User level: Level 1 (12 points)image text search not working in iphone 18pm on ios 27 anyone else having same issue? Like searching for library card doesn’t bring up the right image.
Posted on Oct 22, 2026 2:54 PM
User level: Level 10 (454,138 points)Oct 22, 2026 11:22 PM in response to shuhongbiswas
Searching for photos in the Apple Photos Library using keywords is fundamentally different from using Visual Look Up, Live Text, or object and plant identification. Although these features may appear similar because they help you find information about photos, they serve different purposes and rely on different capabilities. Search for photos and videos on Mac - Apple Support (IN)
- Searching the Photos Library using keywords: This helps you locate photos and videos using search terms such as a person's name, a place, a date, an event, or a subject. Apple Photos can also recognise certain objects, scenes, and text within images, so searching is not limited to keywords that you manually add. However, the results depend on what Photos can recognise and index in your library.
- Live Text: This feature recognises text appearing inside photos, screenshots, and other images. You can select, copy, translate, or interact with recognised text, such as a phone number, address, or printed document. Look up what's in a photo with your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support
- Visual Look Up: This identifies or provides information about certain subjects in a photo, such as plants, animals, landmarks, and other supported objects. It helps you learn what something is rather than simply find a particular photo in your library. About Enhanced Visual Search in Photos - Apple Support (IN)
- Plant and object identification: This is a specific application of visual recognition. For example, you might use it to identify a flower in a photograph. That is different from searching your library for every photograph containing flowers.
The key distinction: Searching helps you find a photo in your library, Live Text helps you recognise and interact with text inside an image, and Visual Look Up helps you identify or learn about what an image contains. These capabilities complement one another, but they are not interchangeable.
User level: Level 1 (108 points)Oct 23, 2026 12:20 AM in response to shuhongbiswas
Hi,
I was having an issue like this as well recently. After the release of iOS 27, I updated my device to this and it fixed the issue straight away. Also, the reason why this might be happening is that your device is reindexing your library, or syncing iCloud Photos between devices.
I hope this helps as this is a really annoying issue to have.
👍
Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256381144