Point, Shoot, and Know: 9 Apps That Help You Identify Anything With Your Camera

Nowadays, your iPhone’s camera can do a lot more than just take pictures. With the right app, it can identify plants, animals, landmarks, artwork, products, wine bottles, food labels, math problems, text, and even random objects you find around the house.

So, instead of typing a vague search into Google and hoping you describe something correctly, you can point your iPhone at the object and let the app do the hard part. Some apps are great for general visual search, while others focus on specific categories like nature, shopping, accessibility, food, or schoolwork.

Of course, no app will be perfect every time. Lighting, image quality, angles, location, and the object itself can all affect the result. Still, these apps can save you a lot of time when you’re trying to figure out what something is, what it’s called, where to buy it, or how to understand it better. Read on for 9 apps that turn your iPhone camera into the ultimate real-world search bar.