You’ll be able to access Visual Intelligence from a new tab in the tablet’s Camera app.
Nathan Ingraham for Engadget
Apple users willing to install beta versions of its OS updates can get their hands on upcoming features sooner than most, as long as they’re comfortable contending with the possibility of buggy software or apps breaking. And one such feature is the Siri Mode that’s already available in the camera app on supported iPhones. It’s also coming to compatible iPads as part of iPadOS 27.3 and will let you ask Siri AI questions about things you point your tablet’s camera at.
We got our first look at this mode when Apple properly unveiled Siri AI at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June this year. It basically brings the company’s Visual Intelligence tool for asking questions from photos to the camera app. But there’s one distinguishing feature that’s unique to iPads which isn’t available on iPhones.
On iPads, Visual Intelligence includes Apple Pencil support. So, much like with Google’s Circle to Search feature, you can snap a photo of something with your iPad, use your Apple Pencil to draw a circle around an item and learn more information about the object with the help of Siri AI.
It’s worth noting that Visual Intelligence is already available on compatible tablets — iPad Pro and iPad Air with the M1 chip and newer, and iPad mini with the A17 Pro or A20 Pro chipset. As things stand, you can access it in the Camera app by long-pressing the Camera Control button or pressing the Action button if you’ve set it up to activate the feature (and your iPad has an Action button, of course).
In iPadOS 27.3, you’ll have another way to access Visual Intelligence in the Camera app. All you’ll have to do is swipe through the options in the viewfinder (i.e. photo, video and portrait modes) until you get to the Siri tab.
The company is expected to release the public version of iPadOS 27.3 in December. However, you can try it on your tablet right now, because Apple released the first beta in early November.
How to install the iPadOS 27.3 beta
To install the iPadOS 27.3 beta, open the Settings app on your iPad, then tap General > Software Update. If you haven’t already done so, you’ll need to enable beta updates. Tap the Beta Updates option, then iPadOS 27 Public Beta. After you go back to the Software Update tab, you should be able to install the iPadOS 27.3 beta.
Before you install the beta, it’s best to create a full backup of your iPad using iCloud, a Mac or a Windows PC. Beta builds aren’t the finished product, meaning they’re more susceptible to bugs and errors. Backing up your data should be standard practice anyway, but it’s especially advisable to do that before installing a beta version of an operating system, just to make sure your files and other information stay safe.
If you don’t feel comfortable enough to install a iPadOS beta, that’s perfectly fine! The public version of the OS update is likely coming soon. You can check out the Siri tab on your iPad’s Camera app at that point.