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New iPhones Can Help Diagnose Your Car—Here's How
Automobiles have come a long way since they were created over a century ago. They're much faster, use much less fuel, and are infinitely safer. Though, for all their advancements some of the standardized features haven't changed much, or at all in decades—take dashboard warning lights, for example. As new generations start driving, not everyone will be familiar with these curious lamps with icons developed years ago. Apparently, Apple has a solution for that, and it's included on new iPhones and iOS 17 software.
Dashboard warning lights on their own are supposed to help guide owners when something on the vehicle goes awry. But there are a lot of them, and without a dive into the owner's manual, many casual car users have no idea what they mean. And really, who reads the owner's manual?
We already know that some of you are rolling your eyes at this, especially if you're the car expert in your family and friend circle you've had at least one person come to you for a dashboard light explainer. But think of it this way—now instead of calling you or digging through Google and then calling you, your less car-literate friends and family now can turn to Apple's new diagnostic feature in iOS 17, revealed via CNET.
It's called "Visual Look Up," and it uses image recognition technology to relay information to the user about any number of everyday things. An update in iOS 17 expands the Visual Look Up feature to recognize dashboard warning and car maintenance symbols. All the user needs to do is take a closeup picture of the symbol on their dashboard, bring up the image in the gallery, and then swipe up. They'll see an option that says "Look Up Auto Symbol" and the software will tell you what the symbol means and provide a link with more information. Granted, this feature doesn't go nearly as deep as an OBD II scanning device, but it's not a bad place to start for someone who doesn't know much about car maintenance, or who lost their owner's manual, etc.
This is the latest in automotive-centric features that Apple has brought to the iPhone in just a few years. It started with the automatic crash detection feature in the iPhone 14. The new iPhone 15 even allows users to connect to AAA via satellite when they're in areas with no cell service. Whenever the long-rumored "Apple Car" finally comes out, it will be interesting to see how or if any of these features will be built-in.
