Technologies

Here’s How to Access Apple’s Visual Intelligence on an iPhone 15 Pro

You don’t need an iPhone 16 to use this feature anymore.

Apple will release iOS 26 this fall and that update will bring a new Liquid Glass design, the ability to screen incoming calls and more to your iPhone. But when Apple released iOS 18.4 in March, that update brought a handful of new controls to the iPhone Control Center, including one that brings Visual Intelligence to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

When Apple released iOS 18 in September, that update remodeled the Control Center to give you more control over how the feature functions. With iOS 18, you can resize controls, assign some controls to their own dedicated page and adjust the placement of controls to your liking. Apple also introduced more controls to the feature, making it a central hub for your most-used iPhone features.

Apple continues to expand the number of controls you can add to the Control Center with iOS 18.4. If you have the update on your iPhone, you can add ambient music controls, and Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhones get a few AI controls in the menu, too.

Here’s what you need to know about the new controls and how to add them to your Control Center.

Apple Intelligence controls

Only people with an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max or the iPhone 16 lineup can access Apple Intelligence features for now, and those people got three new dedicated Apple Intelligence controls with iOS 18.4. Those controls are Talk to Siri, Type to Siri and Visual Intelligence.

Here’s how to find these controls.

1. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your Home Screen to open your Control Center.
2. Tap the plus (+) sign in the top-left corner of your screen.
3. Tap Add a Control.

Then you can use the search bar near the top of the screen to search for «Apple Intelligence» or you can scroll through the menu to find the Apple Intelligence & Siri section. Tap any (or all) of these controls to add them to your Control Center. While Talk to Siri and Type to Siri controls can be helpful if you have trouble accessing the digital assistant, the Visual Intelligence control is important because it brings the Apple Intelligence feature to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.

Visual Intelligence was originally only accessible on the iPhone 16 lineup because those devices have the Camera Control button. With iOS 18.4, Visual Intelligence is now accessible on more devices and people thanks to the titular control in Control Center. But remember, Visual Intelligence is like any other AI tool so it might not always be accurate. You should double check results and information it shows you.

Ambient Music controls

With iOS 18.4, Apple gave everyone four new controls in the Control Center library under the Ambient Music category. These controls are Sleep, Chill, Productivity and Wellbeing. Each of these controls can activate a playlist filled with music that corresponds to the specific control. Sleep, for instance, plays ambient music to help lull you to bed.

Some studies suggest white noise could help adults learn words and improve learning in environments full of distractions. According to the mental health company Calm, certain kinds of music can help you fall asleep faster and improve the quality of your sleep. So these new controls can help you learn, fall asleep and more.

Here’s how to find these controls.

1. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your Home Screen to open your Control Center.
2. Tap the plus (+) sign in the top-left corner of your screen.
3. Tap Add a Control.

You’ll see a section of controls called Ambient Music. You can also search for «Ambient Music» in the search bar at the top of the control library. Under Ambient Music, you’ll see all four controls. Tap one (or all) of them to add them to your Control Center. Once you’ve added one or all the controls to your Control Center, go back to your Control Center and tap one to start playing music.

Here’s how to change the playlist for each control.

1. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your Home Screen to open your Control Center.
2. Tap the plus (+) sign in the top-left corner of your screen.
3. Tap the Ambient Music control you want to edit.
4. Tap the playlist to the right of Playlist.

A dropdown menu will appear with additional playlists for each control. If you’re in the Sleep control, you’ll see playlists like Restful Notes and Lo-Fi Snooze. If you have playlists in your Music app, then you’ll also see an option From Library, which pulls music from your library. Tap whichever playlist you want and it will be assigned to that control.

Apple already lets you transform your iPhone into a white noise machine with Background Sounds, like ocean and rain. But Ambient Music is actual music as opposed to more static sounds like in that feature.

Both of these features feel like a way for Apple to present itself as the first option for whenever you want some background music to help you fall asleep or be productive. Other services, like Spotify and YouTube, already have ambient music playlists like these, so this could be Apple’s way of taking some of those service’s audience.

For more on iOS 18, here’s what you need to know about iOS 18.6 and iOS 18.5, as well as our iOS 18 cheat sheet. You can also check out what you should know about iOS 26 and my first impressions of the iOS 26 beta.

Technologies

Claude AI Can Now End Conversations It Deems Harmful or Abusive

The feature marks a milestone in how Anthropic approaches AI safety.

Anthropic has announced a new experimental safety feature that allows its Claude Opus 4 and 4.1 artificial intelligence models to terminate conversations in rare, persistently harmful or abusive scenarios. The move reflects the company’s growing focus on what it calls «model welfare,» the notion that safeguarding AI systems, even if they’re not sentient, is a prudent step in alignment and ethical design.

According to Anthropic’s own research, the models were programmed to cut off dialogues after repeated harmful requests, such as for sexual content involving minors or instructions facilitating terrorism, especially when the AI had already refused and attempted to steer the conversation constructively. The AI may exhibit what Anthropic describes as «apparent distress,» which guided the decision to give Claude the ability to end these interactions in simulated and real-user testing.

Read also: Meta Is Under Fire for AI Guidelines on ‘Sensual’ Chats With Minors

When this feature is triggered, users can’t send additional messages in that particular chat, but they’re free to start a new conversation or edit and retry previous messages to branch off. Crucially, other active conversations remain unaffected.

Anthropic emphasizes that this is a last-resort measure, intended only after multiple refusals and redirects have failed. The company explicitly instructs Claude not to end chats when a user may be at imminent risk of self-harm or harm to others, particularly when dealing with sensitive topics like mental health.

Anthropic frames this new capability as part of an exploratory project in model welfare, a broader initiative that explores low-cost, preemptive safety interventions in case AI models were to develop any form of preferences or vulnerabilities. The statement says the company remains «highly uncertain about the potential moral status of Claude and other LLMs (large language models).»

Read also: Why Professionals Say You Should Think Twice Before Using AI as a Therapist

A new look into AI safety

Although rare and primarily affecting extreme cases, this feature marks a milestone in how Anthropic approaches AI safety. The new conversation-ending tool contrasts with earlier systems that focused solely on safeguarding users or avoiding misuse. Here, the AI is treated as a stakeholder in its own right, as Claude has the power to say, «this conversation isn’t healthy» and end it to safeguard the integrity of the model itself.

Anthropic’s approach has sparked broader discussion about whether AI systems should be granted protections to reduce potential «distress» or unpredictable behavior. While some critics argue that models are merely synthetic machines, others welcome this move as an opportunity to spark more serious discourse on AI alignment ethics.

«We’re treating this feature as an ongoing experiment and will continue refining our approach,» the company said in a post.

Technologies

Better Than Ray-Bans? Meta Could Unveil ‘Hypernova’ Glasses Next Month

Not only could the new AR glasses arrive sooner than expected, they’re rumored to be cheaper than expected.

September is gearing up to be one of the most exciting months of the year for new technology launches, with Meta reportedly set to unveil its next-generation smart glasses. Codenamed Hypernova, according to Bloomberg, the glasses are set to start around $800 for the basic model — that’s at least $200 less than previously thought.

This pair of glasses will reportedly differ from the current Meta Ray-Bans due to the addition of a small augmented-reality display in the right lens of the glasses, which will only be visible to the wearer. On this display you’ll be able to see mini apps and alerts, and you’ll have control over the content with assistance from the same neural input wristband used to operate Meta’s Orion AR glasses.

When CNET Editor-at-Large Scott Stein tried out the concept wristband with Orion earlier this year, he noted that the gestures «weren’t perfect yet,» but that he could see their potential.

The Hypernova glasses will cost around $500 more than the Meta Ray-Bans, but Meta has apparently managed to slash that price from $1,000 by accepting lower margins. It hopes that this will help boost demand for the glasses, but you’ll likely pay more for prescription lenses or style variations.

Technologies

You Could Be Streaming the Oscars on YouTube or Netflix by 2029

Reports suggest streaming services are vying to air the Oscars after ABC’s deal ends in 2028.

Will we be watching 2029’s Academy Awards on YouTube?

That’s one possibility as streaming and broadcast giants position themselves to potentially take over as the streaming/broadcast home of the Oscars after ABC’s contract ends in 2028. According to a Bloomberg newsletter, Google’s YouTube is now in the running as a potential Oscars suitor, joining companies such as Netflix and NBCUniversal as a possible new home for the awards.

Like Netflix, YouTube has been increasingly become interested in hosting major live events such as the NFL Sunday Ticket, which moved there in 2023. Of course, it’s also possible that ABC, which is owned by Disney, will renew its contract. The network has aired the Oscars since 1976.

But reports since earlier this year have suggested that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been exploring other options, either to find a new place for the Oscars or as a negotiating ploy.

While it’s still a big live event, the awards show has had diminishing ratings over the last 10 years, though the 2025 ceremony had the highest viewership in five years. The Oscars were shown on Hulu as well as ABC.