A handful of enhanced editing features previously limited to Pixel devices and paid subscribers are now available to all Google Photos users for free.
This addition also includes Google’s Magic Eraser, which removes undesired elements from images; Photo Unblur, which sharpens blurry photos using machine learning; Portrait Light, which allows you to modify the light source in photos after they’ve been taken; and others.
The editing capabilities have long been a selling feature for Google’s high-end Pixel phones, as well as Google One, a cloud storage subscription service. However, with an increasing number of AI-powered editing apps on the market, Google has decided to make its suite of AI photo editing features available to more people for free.
Here are some hardware device requirements to be able to use these features though. On ChromeOS, for instance, the device must be a Chromebook Plus with ChromeOS version 118+ or have at least 3GB RAM. On mobile, the device must run Android 8.0 or higher or iOS 15 or higher. Pixel tablets will also be supported.
Magic Editor is the group’s most notable feature. Introduced last year with the release of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, this editing tool use generative AI to perform more complex photo adjustments like as filling in gaps in a photo, moving the subject, and other foreground or background edits. With Magic Editor, you can change a gray sky to blue, remove people from the background of a photo, recenter the photo subject while filling in gaps, remove other clutter and more.
Previously, these kinds of edits would require Magic Eraser and other professional editing tools, like Photoshop, to get the same effect. And those edits would be more manual, not automated via AI. With the expansion, Magic Editor will come to all Pixel devices, while iOS and Android users (whose phones meet the requirements) will get 10 Magic Editor saves per month – beyond that, they’ll need to buy a Premium Google One plan. The other tools will be available to all Google Photos users, no Google One subscription is required. The full set of features that will become available includes Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, Sky suggestions, Color pop, HDR effect for photos and videos, Portrait Blur, Portrait Light (plus the add light/balance light features in the tool), Cinematic Photos, Styles in the Collage Editor and Video Effects. Few other features like the AI-powered Best Take – which merges similar photos to create a single best shot where everyone is smiling – will continue to be available only to Pixel products.
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