Apple has made notable strides in artificial intelligence with the recent release of Apple Intelligence, but there’s still ground to cover. While the iPhone 15 and iOS 17 introduced features like Visual Look Up and Photo Clean Up, Apple continues to trail Google in the smartphone AI race.

Having spent significant time with Google’s Pixel lineup—from the Pixel 8 Pro to the Pixel 9 Pro—I’ve seen firsthand how Google’s AI innovations dramatically enhance the user experience. As WWDC 2025 approaches, all eyes are on Apple to close the AI gap with iOS 26.

Quick Summary: AI Features Apple Should Bring to iOS 26

Call Screen: AI-Powered Call Assistant

Why Apple Needs It

Call Screen has become one of Google’s most powerful and practical AI features. It allows Google Assistant to automatically answer unknown calls, screen them, and display real-time transcripts to help users decide how to respond.

Whether it’s a telemarketer, delivery driver, or an unknown number, this feature reduces interruptions without requiring the user to answer the call manually.

Apple’s Shortfall

Despite Siri’s advancements, iPhones lack any comparable native functionality. Spam call filtering is minimal, and voicemail transcription, while helpful, doesn’t offer real-time AI-powered interaction. Apple could vastly improve user convenience and reduce spam with a similar system in iOS 26.

Cross-App Actions: AI That Truly Multitasks

What It Is

Cross-app actions, powered by Google’s Gemini AI, allow users to perform complex tasks across multiple apps with a single command. Want to find a pet-friendly cafe, check reviews, and add the event to your calendar? Gemini can handle it.

Where Apple Stands

Apple Intelligence can call on Siri to execute some app-based tasks, but it remains limited to Apple’s own ecosystem or tightly controlled Siri Shortcuts. There is no broad capability to chain commands or integrate across third-party apps as fluidly as Pixel devices.

Why It Matters

This is AI convenience at its best. Apple needs to empower Siri with similar cross-app intelligence, ideally in a more intuitive and voice-driven format.

Circle to Search: Visual Search at Your Fingertips

The Feature

Circle to Search lets you visually search anything on your screen by circling it, tapping it, or highlighting it. It works in any app and leverages Google’s robust search algorithms to return results instantly.

Apple’s Alternative

Apple’s Visual Look Up feature does allow users to identify plants, landmarks, and even translate languages in photos, but it doesn’t offer on-screen, real-time interaction. There’s no gesture-based search interface, and it’s limited to supported images and screenshots.

What Apple Should Do

Bringing a similar feature to iOS 26 would make the iPhone smarter, more intuitive, and vastly more useful—especially in apps like Safari, Mail, or social media.

Reimagine: AI Photo Editing on Another Level

How It Works

The Reimagine tool on Pixel devices allows users to select a portion of a photo and transform it with a text prompt. For example, you can highlight the sky in a photo and replace it with a sunset, or add an entirely new object with realistic lighting and shadows.

Apple’s Equivalent

Image Playground in iOS can generate new images based on prompts, but it can’t transform existing photos. It’s more of a creative generation tool than an editing one.

Why It’s Important

Reimagine gives users more control and creativity with their photos. Apple could bridge the gap with an enhanced editing tool in Photos, possibly integrated with iCloud or Apple Intelligence.

Pixel Screenshots: Smarter Screenshot Management

What It Does

Pixel Screenshots use AI to extract, analyze, and let you search within your screenshots. If you capture a recipe, event flyer, or instructions, you can later query the screenshot to pull up specific details—like ingredients or dates.

Apple’s Limitation

Screenshots on iPhones are static images stored in Photos. While Live Text can detect text in images, it doesn’t include the same level of contextual memory or AI-enhanced search.

Why It Would Benefit iOS

Adding an AI layer to screenshots would make iPhones much more functional for everyday tasks and productivity especially for students, professionals, and planners.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is Call Screening on Pixel phones?

A. Call Screening allows Google Assistant to answer unknown calls, provide transcripts, and offer contextual reply options. It helps filter out spam and save time.

2. Can iPhones perform cross-app tasks with Siri?

A. Siri can perform limited tasks across Apple’s ecosystem and via Siri Shortcuts, but it lacks the deep integration that Google’s Gemini offers for seamless cross-app functionality.

3. Is there a Circle to Search equivalent on iPhones?

A. Currently, no. Apple offers Visual Look Up, but it only works with certain photos and screenshots, not live on-screen content across apps.

4. Does Apple Intelligence include photo editing like Reimagine?

A. No. Apple’s Image Playground can generate images, but it doesn’t allow for direct edits to existing photos like Google’s Reimagine tool does.

5. Can iPhones search within screenshots?

A. Apple offers Live Text for extracting text, but doesn’t include AI memory or contextual recall like Google’s Pixel Screenshots feature.

Conclusion

Apple has made significant strides in AI, but iOS 26 is its critical moment to evolve. By integrating these five powerful features inspired by Google’s Pixel AI ecosystem, Apple could not only catch up but potentially leap ahead with its usual polish and privacy-first approach.

As the competition heats up between iPhone, Pixel, and Galaxy, users ultimately benefit from better tools, smarter devices, and more seamless experiences. With WWDC 2025 on the horizon, we’ll soon see whether Apple is ready to lead or content to follow.

Official Resources

• Google AI
• Google Pixel Call Screen
• Apple Intelligence Overview
• Google Gemini
• WWDC 2025

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