In iOS 17, photo searches were limited to basic categories like people, places, or objects. But with iOS 18, the search functionality has been greatly enhanced. In this article, I will share some new and cool ways to search your photos on your iPhone, making it much easier to find exactly what you’re looking for.
Table of Contents
1. Search Multiple People
One of my favorite features in the new iOS 18 Photos app is the ability to search for multiple people. For example, if I want to view pictures of myself and my friends, I can enter names in the search bar like “Sayan, Pratik, Mrinal,” and it will only show pictures featuring all three of us. You can also sort or filter the results to make finding the exact image easier. See the screenshot below:
2. Find People in Action
If you want to show your friends old videos of you playing a game, search for “[Your Name] playing” and it will display all the results where you’re seen playing that game. What’s cool is that it will even show the timestamp where you’re playing, so you can jump directly to that part.
There are countless other search terms you can use, such as:
- [Person Name] eating
- [Person Name] cycling
- [Person Name] [food name]
- [Person Name] documents
3. Search Text in Image
Looking for specific text in your photos, like a menu item? Thanks to the Live Text feature on iPhone, you can easily do that. For example, when I wanted to check the price of a burger from a restaurant menu photo, I just searched for “burger” and it brought up the menu photo.
Also Read: We have covered how to extract text from images on both PC and mobile here. Check it out.
4. Find Photos Based on Location, Device, or Image Type
Did you know that every photo you take, whether from your smartphone or DSLR, stores EXIF metadata? This includes details like focal length, ISO, image type, location, and the device used. If you’ve moved all your media files from a Samsung Galaxy to an iPhone, you can search for “Samsung” to see only the photos taken with the Samsung phone. Similarly, you can search by location, image type, or camera type.
5. Filter by Selfie, Panorama, or Live Photos
Another cool way to quickly find your photos is by searching for specific photo types. If I want to see only selfies in my photo library, I can easily do that. To narrow the search further, I can add a person’s name to the selfie search. Similarly, if I want to see only panoramas or live photos, I can search for those as well.
6. Utility Section
If you prefer not to search manually, simply go to the Utilities section where your photos are categorized into sets like handwritten notes, illustrations, QR codes, documents, duplicate photos, and more.
That’s it from my side. With these enhanced search features in iOS 18, managing and finding your photos becomes a breeze, ensuring you can always locate your favorite memories with ease.
Don’t like the new iOS 18 or facing too many bugs? You can roll back to the iOS 17 stable version without losing data easily. Here’s how.
