Siri Could Unlock Visual Intelligence for Contextual Tasks with iOS 27: Gurman

2026 is going to be monumental for Apple in general and Siri's future in particular. With Siri's Gemini-powered AI capabilities, Apple is expected to step into the AI chatbot limelight and we have already heard some interesting details about it. Now, a new report sheds light on Siri's upcoming Visual Intelligence capabilities in iOS 27.

Siri Could Use iPhone Camera App for Visual Intelligence

As per Mark Gurman's latest Power On newsletter for Bloomberg, Apple is planning to add context-aware visual capabilities alongside the upgraded Siri app. It will be part of Siri's multi-step query handling in iOS 27 and will leverage the Camera app to unlock hands-free visual data assimilation.

Siri on iPhone — Image Credit: Beebom Gadgets

The feature will reportedly be an extension of Visual Intelligence that's part of Apple Intelligence. However, unlike the current Camera Control button trigger, Siri's updated Visual Intelligence capabilities will live inside the Camera app.

In iOS 27, the Camera app is said to feature a dedicated Siri mode which will live alongside the Photo, Video, Portrait and Panorama modes. In Siri mode, Gurman states that the camera shutter button will mimic the Siri logo and will be a visual indicator for the Camera app's AI features.

Siri in accessability — Image Credit: Beebom Gadgets

Clicking on it, users will be able to trigger Siri's hands-on visual intelligence capabilities. It is said to unlock three context analysis features:

Nutrition label scanning: Users will be able to converse with Siri to extract dietary information from nutrition labels.
Hands-free Contacts: Allow hand-free contact capture and automatic addition to the Contacts app.
Adding information to digital wallet: Capture physical credential data and add it to the Apple Wallet.

However, Gurman notes that the upcoming Visual Intelligence features of Siri will exist alongside the current Apple Intelligence features. So, users will also be able to point their iPhone camera and ask Siri to identify an object, text, or place. The implementation could get neater with iOS 27, but the core functionalities will supercharge Siri to perform more complex and data-driven visual tasks.

That said, it is unclear if Visual Intelligence will be unveiled at the upcoming WWDC 2026 event alongside iOS 27. However, based on Google Cloud chief Thomas Kurian's comment at the Google Cloud 2026 event, Visual Intelligence will definitely arrive by the end of 2026, possibly at the iPhone 18 and iPhone Fold launch event in September 2026. So, stay tuned.