Google Photos is receiving an AI makeover. The tech giant announced on Wednesday that several advanced editing features, previously exclusive to Pixel devices and paid subscribers, will now be accessible to all Google Photos users at no charge. Among these enhancements are the AI-powered Magic Editor and Magic Eraser, which removes unwanted elements from photos, along with Photo Unblur, Portrait Light, and more.
These editing tools have traditionally been a highlight of Google’s premium Pixel phones and a perk of the Google One cloud storage subscription service. However, with the proliferation of AI-driven editing tools in the market, Google has opted to extend its suite of AI photo editing capabilities to a wider audience for free.
However, there are some conditions attached to this expansion. The rollout of these tools will commence on May 15th, and it may take several weeks for them to become available to all Google Photos users. Additionally, certain hardware requirements must be met to utilize these features. For instance, on ChromeOS, the device must be a Chromebook Plus with ChromeOS version 118+ or have a minimum of 3GB RAM. On mobile, devices must run Android 8.0 or higher or iOS 15 or higher.
Magic Editor stands out as the most significant addition. Introduced last year with the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, this tool employs generative AI to perform complex photo edits such as filling in gaps, adjusting the subject’s position, and other foreground or background alterations. With Magic Editor, users can transform a gray sky to blue, remove individuals from the background, recenter the subject, and eliminate clutter, among other tasks.
Previously, achieving these kinds of edits required the use of Magic Eraser and other professional editing tools like Photoshop, which involved more manual processes. With the expansion, Magic Editor will be available on all Pixel devices, while iOS and Android users (meeting the device requirements) will receive 10 Magic Editor saves per month. To access additional saves, a Premium Google One plan, starting from 2TB of storage, will be necessary.
The remaining tools will be accessible to all Google Photos users without requiring a Google One subscription. These include Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, Sky suggestions, Color Pop, HDR effects for photos and videos, Portrait Blur, Portrait Light, Cinematic Photos, Styles in the Collage Editor, and Video Effects.
However, features like AI-powered Best Take, which consolidates similar photos to create a single optimized shot with everyone smiling, will remain exclusive to Pixel 8 and 8 Pro users.
