Apple is fixing bill splitting with its new Siri in Camera feature

TechCrunch reports that Apple is using its new Siri in Camera feature to address a common but tedious everyday scenario: splitting the bill after a group meal. According to Apple software vice president Sebastien Marineau-Mes, when users are dining with friends, they can point their iPhone at the bill, select which dishes they ordered, and use Apple Cash to split the payment. Based on the original content currently available, the focus of this feature is not simply taking a photo to recognize text, but connecting the camera, Siri, and the payment flow so users do not have to manually calculate how much each person owes and then open a separate payment app to handle the transfer. For everyday users, this suggests Apple is trying to embed AI assistants more deeply into daily interactions, rather than keeping them limited to chat or information lookup. For developers and product designers, what is notable about this case is the interaction entry point: users do not first open Siri to ask a question, but instead point Camera at a real-world object, after which the system understands the bill’s contents and continues into the payment action. However, the original excerpt does not explain whether this feature depends on the new Apple Intelligence, which languages and countries it supports, whether it can handle taxes and tips, cases where multiple people order the same dish, or payment methods beyond Apple Cash. For now, it can only be viewed as a lifestyle-oriented AI feature direction shown by Apple, rather than a formal product specification with complete usable details.