OpenAI’s latest weekly update introduces a friction-reducing image attachment feature for iPhone ChatGPT, part of a broader push to speed image uploads and improve time handling in web conversations.

Product lead Adam Fry describes the feature as a 'fun, power user feature' unveiled in the August 21 update alongside improvements to time awareness and faster loading for long chats on the web.

The announcement was shared by Adam Fry on X, highlighting August 21 feature updates and noting enhancements for image uploads and time awareness across web chats.

EU restrictions leave about 450 million people without a native visual assistant on iPhone, increasing reliance on third-party solutions like ChatGPT for visual queries in the region.

OpenAI is expanding in Europe beyond the iPhone feature, including marketing efforts such as ads across 31 European countries.

The gesture change providing quicker access to photos is a usability improvement rather than a major redesign or new AI capability, aimed at streamlining attaching recent images.

A new iPhone shortcut lets users attach one of their four most recent photos by long-pressing the plus button beside the prompt box.

Users can select directly from the four latest photos via the shortcut, reducing taps versus the previous multi-step process of opening the Photos menu.

To use it, users press and hold the + button to reveal their four most recent photos and choose one to attach to the chat.

In the EU, Apple is delaying or restricting access to Siri and Visual Intelligence features due to the Digital Markets Act, leaving iPhone users without native visual assistants.

Apple has not announced a timeline for bringing Siri AI to iPhone or iPad in the EU, with potential faster availability for Mac and Vision Pro instead.

This shift reflects a broader trend toward making AI assistants more seamless for visual queries by minimizing interruptions during photo attachment.