Ask Dave Taylor
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • YouTube Videos
  • Top Categories
  • Subscribe via Email
  • Ask A Question
  • Meet Dave
  • Home
  • iPhone & iOS Help
  • Can I Identify Plants and Flowers with the iPhone Camera?

Can I Identify Plants and Flowers with the iPhone Camera?

June 9, 2022 / Dave Taylor / iPhone & iOS Help / 2 Comments

I know that there are third-party apps for my iPhone that can supposedly identify plants and flowers, but can I just do that with the Camera app, similar to how Google Lens does on an Android phone?

There’s no question that the engineers at Apple have been watching Google’s vision AI system Google Lens and planning for something similar on the iOS side for iPhones and iPads. What people might not realize is that it’s now implemented and integrated into the Photos app, even for screen captures you take on the phone. It’s included in iOS 15 and was added with remarkably little fanfare, perhaps because they felt it was a bit of a catch-up feature rather than something new and groundbreaking?

Anyway, it’s really easy to work with and there’s a lot more than just plants and flowers that can be identified through the Apple photo AI system. But I’ll let you discover those features once you get the hang of things.

IDENTIFY PLANTS AND FLOWERS IN IPHONE’S PHOTOS

To start out I’m going to take a screenshot of a flower photo a friend posted on Facebook. When I view that screenshot in Photos it looks like this:

iphone photos - photo of flower to identify -

Beautiful, right? But what actually is this flower? Well, the eagle-eyed among you might notice that the “i” icon on the bottom row has picked up some stars and is a bit twinkly. That’s a sign that this image is suitable for identification through the Photo Information view.

Tap on the “i” to see and here’s what is displayed:

iphone photos - photo of flower to identify - get info

You can see it, smack-dab in the middle of the screen. “Look Up – Plant“. Since it’s a screenshot, note that there is no lens or exposure information. No surprise there, but if you did take the photo with your own iPhone, you would instead have a lot of interesting camera-geek type information on focal lens, f-stop, exposure, etc.

HOW TO USE LOOK UP IN THE PHOTOS APP

Easy enough. Tap on “Look Up – Plant”. If it’s the very first time you’re using this feature, you’ll get this information screen:

iphone photos - photo of flower to identify - look up plant info screen

Seems reasonable – and the icons along the top are a clue as to the various categories of photos that can be analyzed through Look Up – so let’s tap on “Continue” to proceed.

iphone photos - photo of flower to identify - siri knowledge

Ah, there we go, it’s a flower called “Spirae”. That first entry is from Wikipedia, so one more tap and we can learn quite a lot about the flower, which is formally known as Snowmound Spirea:

iphone photos - photo of flower to identify - spirae flower info from wikipedia

Way more information than I would ever have learned otherwise and it’s just two taps away from the photo view in Photos on your iPhone or iPad. Nice! And it’s a solid competitor to Google Lens, even if “Look Up” is a bit blander as names go…

Pro Tip: I’ve been writing about the iPhone and iOS since the very first iPhone was released. I’ve also owned every major iPhone model! Please check out my iPhone help articles while you’re visiting. Thanks!

About the Author: Dave Taylor has been involved with the online world since the early days of the Internet. Author of over 20 technical books, he runs the popular AskDaveTaylor.com tech help site. You can also find his gadget reviews on YouTube and chat with him on Twitter as @DaveTaylor.

Let’s Stay In Touch!

Never miss a single article, review or tutorial here on AskDaveTaylor, sign up for my fun weekly newsletter!
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please enter all required fields
Correct invalid entries
No spam, ever. Promise. Powered by FeedBlitz
Please choose a color:
Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!
apple lens, google lens, iphone look up, photos look up

2 comments on “Can I Identify Plants and Flowers with the iPhone Camera?”

  1. Jess says:
    June 17, 2022 at 7:58 am

    Hi Dave,

    I have an iPhone 8 running iOS 15.5. I followed the same steps you did but I don’t see any “stars” on the “i” icon nor a leaf icon on the photo of a plant I just took. I tabbed the “i” and don’t see “Look up – plant”. Am I doing something wrong?

    Thanks.

    Reply
    • Dave Taylor says:
      June 17, 2022 at 10:02 am

      Your older iPhone might not support this feature, sorry.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Recent Posts

  • How to Check Energy Recommendations on your Windows Laptop
  • How Do I Customize New Tab Windows in Safari for Mac?
  • Can AI-Generated ChatGPT Text Be Accurately Identified?
  • How to Perform a Microsoft Account Security Audit and Checkup
  • How Can I Customize My Linux Dock / Taskbar?

On Our YouTube Channel

How to: Replace a Switchbot Door Sensor Battery

EMEET Luna vs INNOTRIK Studio Bluetooth Speakerphones -- DEMOS & REVIEW

Categories

  • AdSense, AdWords, and PPC Help (106)
  • Amazon, eBay, and Online Shopping Help (163)
  • Android Help (226)
  • Apple iPad Help (147)
  • Apple Watch Help (53)
  • Articles, Tutorials, and Reviews (346)
  • Auto Tech Help (15)
  • Business Advice (200)
  • ChromeOS Help (31)
  • Computer & Internet Basics (778)
  • d) None of the Above (166)
  • Facebook Help (383)
  • Google, Chrome & Gmail Help (188)
  • HTML & Web Page Design (247)
  • Instagram Help (49)
  • iPhone & iOS Help (623)
  • iPod & MP3 Player Help (173)
  • Kindle & Nook Help (99)
  • LinkedIn Help (88)
  • Linux Help (173)
  • Linux Shell Script Programming (89)
  • Mac & MacOS Help (911)
  • Most Popular (16)
  • Outlook & Office 365 Help (33)
  • PayPal Help (68)
  • Pinterest Help (54)
  • Reddit Help (19)
  • SEO & Marketing (82)
  • Spam, Scams & Security (95)
  • Trade Show News & Updates (23)
  • Twitter Help (220)
  • Video Game Tips (66)
  • Web Site Traffic Tips (62)
  • Windows PC Help (947)
  • Wordpress Help (206)
  • Writing and Publishing (72)
  • YouTube Help (47)
  • YouTube Video Reviews (159)
  • Zoom, Skype & Video Chat Help (62)

Archives

Social Connections:

Ask Dave Taylor


Follow Me on Pinterest
Follow me on Twitter
Follow me on LinkedIn
Follow me on Instagram


AskDaveTaylor on Facebook



microsoft insider mvp


This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this site or on any linked site. Further, please note that by submitting a question or comment you're agreeing to our terms of service, which are: you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site. Our lawyer says "Thanks for your cooperation."
© 2023 by Dave Taylor. "Ask Dave Taylor®" is a registered trademark of Intuitive Systems, LLC.
Privacy Policy - Terms and Conditions - Accessibility Policy