Identify Species Fast: Apple Visual Look Up & Google Lens | Page 7

How to use it

1. Open a photo or image in full screen, or pause a video on any frame.

2. If the Info button displays a symbol with stars such as the Detected Food Info button or the Detected Dog Info button, Visual Look Up is available.

3. Tap the starred Info button, then tap Look Up at the top of the photo information to view the Visual Look Up results.

4. Tap the Close button to close the Visual Look Up results, then swipe down on the photo or video frame to close the photo information.

Visual Look Up with Apple Phones

Two years ago, Apple introduced Visual Look Up as a built-in feature of the Photos app. The tool allows you to quickly identify various objects—such as landmarks, plants, and animals—captured in your photos or videos. For some, this may provide a “quick and dirty” way to narrow down species identification in the field.

Google Lens

Alternatively, Google Lens is available on most Android devices and can be downloaded as an app or accessed via the Google Photos app on iOS devices. Unlike Apple’s integrated Visual Look Up, Google Lens operates as a standalone tool with its own interface, and it can similarly be used to flag species, landmarks, or other items of interest in the field.

Technology

Need help identifying animals and plants in the field?

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