Apple's next major focus appears to be advancing into visual artificial intelligence, with CEO Tim Cook highlighting Visual Intelligence as a key element in the company's strategy for AI-powered wearable devices. In Bloomberg's latest Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman notes Cook's recent comments pointing towards this direction.
Cook has repeatedly emphasised Visual Intelligence, describing it as one of the most popular features in Apple Intelligence. During the latest holiday quarter earnings call and in an internal meeting, he noted its popularity for helping users interact more effectively with on-screen content. He also stressed Apple's potential in AI thanks to its 2.5-billion-strong device base.
Apple's Visual Intelligence Push
Apple's push for Visual Intelligence centres on a new category of AI wearables tied to the iPhone and enhanced Siri capabilities. Currently, Visual Intelligence relies on external services like OpenAI's ChatGPT (and potentially Google) to process image-based queries.
However, Gurman opines that Cook's enthusiasm is a sign Apple is investing in its own on-device visual models. This builds on Apple's existing expertise in computer vision from projects like the Apple Car, Vision Pro AR, and research papers such as Ferret-UI Lite for app analysis. Replacing third-party reliance with in-house tech would open the door for tighter integration with new hardware.
Which Apple Devices Will Pack Visual Intelligence?
When it comes to hardware application of Visual Intelligence, the widely rumoured device is AirPods equipped with cameras, which are expected to arrive later this year. These would feature low-resolution or infrared cameras not meant for photography but to provide Apple Intelligence with real-time environmental awareness.
Another application is smart glasses, which Apple may be targeting for a late 2026 release as well. The purported Apple Glass is expected to get a form that focusses initially on camera and audio, with a more advanced augmented reality version anticipated to follow later.
An AI pin (or pendant) that can be worn as a necklace or clipped to clothing was also recently rumoured, equipped with a camera to feed visual data directly to Apple Intelligence.
Gurman suggests that basic uses of these devices could be to identify objects, like ingredients on a plate of food. More sophisticated applications include improved navigation, where the AI uses visible landmarks for directions, such as “turn left at the red signpost” rather than distance-based instructions alone.
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