iPhone Secret Feature Instant Item Search

Your phone can identify anything you point it at — and tell you exactly where to buy it: Airport outfits, your friend’s lamp, those cute shoes on Instagram — and find the lowest price on everything!

We use about 10% of what our smartphones are capable of. Let’s change that, starting with this little gem.

Have you wandered through a funky little thrift shop and spotted something you’re just sure would make you Antiques Roadshow famous? Or maybe someone walks past you at the airport in the most perfect jacket, and you would love to know where they got it, without having to chase them down and ask?

You can now point your magical little iPhone or newer Android at pretty much anything, anywhere, and it tells exactly what it is, where to buy it, and roughly how much it costs … in seconds. The coolest part of it all for me is that you can do it on both phones by pressing a button, no uploads, apps, or real tech skills needed.

Why This Matters

Instead of trying to describe an object to Google like some kind of police sketch artist — “blue shoes with a circle maybe Adidas?” — your phone now turns into a real-time search engine for the world around you — and for the things already sitting on your screen.

That matters if you thrift shop, buy vintage, sell on eBay, decorate your house, travel, scroll Instagram, or just constantly see things you like out in the world and never know how to find again.

It also matters because the technology finally works well enough to feel useful instead of gimmicky. I admit, I’m a little obsessed with this feature right now. Just today, my phone identified lamps, furniture, clothes, gadgets, and random household objects in seconds, then pulled up prices across multiple retailers almost immediately.

It’s kind of like having a search engine attached to your eyeballs.

Apple calls the feature Visual Intelligence. Google calls its version Google Lens.

Here’s everything you need to set it up: