iOS 27 adds Visual Intelligence for bill‑splitting and instant pass entry in Apple Wallet

Apple’s new Visual Intelligence – what it does

Apple is polishing its Wallet app with a feature dubbed Visual Intelligence in the upcoming iOS 27 release. In practice, the tool turns the iPhone’s camera into a specialised scanner that can recognise two types of physical items:

1. Itemised receipts – the app parses the line‑items, totals and tax, then offers a “Split Bill with Apple Cash” button.
2. Physical passes – boarding passes, loyalty cards, event tickets and similar items are identified and can be added to Wallet with a single tap.

The functionality is not a generic OCR engine; it only works when the receipt is clearly printed and the pass includes a QR code or Apple‑compatible branding. Apple Cash must already be configured on the device for the split‑bill flow to work.

“Visual Intelligence is basically your camera with Siri floating around in the background,” wrote Thomas Godwin for Engadget.

How to enable the feature in iOS 27

If you’re already running a public or developer beta of iOS 27, you can add the Visual Intelligence shortcut to the Control Centre:

1. Swipe down from the top‑right corner to open Control Centre.
2. Press and hold an empty space, then tap Add a Control.
3. Search for Visual Intelligence and tap the plus sign.
4. The new icon now sits alongside your other quick‑access tools.

Once added, a single tap launches the camera in a mode that automatically looks for a receipt or a supported pass.

Splitting a restaurant tab with Apple Cash

The process is deliberately straightforward:

1. Lay the itemised receipt on a flat, well‑lit surface.
2. Open Control Centre and hit the Visual Intelligence icon.
3. Point the camera at the receipt; the software will highlight a yellow Split Bill with Apple Cash button when it recognises the document.
4. Tap the button, pick the contacts you want to involve, and review the automatically extracted amounts. You can adjust tax, tip or shared items before confirming.
5. Apple Cash requests are sent instantly to the selected recipients.

Because the scanner extracts each line‑item, groups can choose to split items individually rather than simply dividing the total evenly – a small but handy improvement over many third‑party apps.

Adding tickets and loyalty cards on the fly

The same camera shortcut works for physical passes:

1. Open Control Centre and activate Visual Intelligence.
2. Aim the camera at the pass (boarding pass, cinema ticket, store loyalty card, etc.).
3. If iOS 27 recognises the format, a prompt appears asking whether to add it to Wallet.
4. Confirm, and the pass appears alongside your existing cards.

Apple notes that not every issuer will support this fallback method; some airlines or venues still require you to add the pass through their own app or a dedicated “Add to Apple Wallet” link.

What Android users can learn from the update

While the feature is exclusive to Apple’s ecosystem, it highlights a trend that Android manufacturers have been chasing: tighter integration of payment and ticketing functions directly into the OS. Google Pay already lets users scan QR codes to add loyalty cards, and the Google Pay Passes API enables developers to push tickets straight to the app. However, automatic receipt parsing and bill‑splitting remain largely third‑party territory on Android, with apps like Splitwise or Tricount handling the heavy lifting.

For UK consumers who juggle multiple contactless cards and often travel on the rail network, the ability to snap a paper ticket and have it instantly appear in Wallet could be a compelling reason to stick with an iPhone, especially if they already use Apple Cash for peer‑to‑peer payments. Android users will need to wait for a comparable native solution, or continue to rely on a mix of Google Pay, banking apps and dedicated split‑bill services.

Availability and rollout timeline

Apple has placed Visual Intelligence in the iOS 27 public beta, meaning anyone enrolled in the Apple Beta Software Program can test it now. The company has not announced an exact release date for the final iOS 27 version, but historically the OS reaches the general public in September‑October. Expect the feature to be fully functional at launch, though Apple cautions that the most reliable way to add passes will still be via the issuer’s official “Add to Apple Wallet” link.

Bottom line for contract‑hunters and deal‑seekers

If you’re shopping for a new phone on a contract and you already rely on Apple Cash for splitting meals or paying friends, iOS 27’s Visual Intelligence could tip the scales toward an iPhone, especially with carriers now offering 5G‑ready iPhone models on competitive UK plans. For Android enthusiasts, the update serves as a reminder that Apple continues to push the envelope on integrated financial tools – a space where Android still lags behind in native OS features.

The information above is based on Apple’s iOS 27 beta documentation and Engadget’s preview article published on 7 September 2026.