Google this week announced that its suite of AI-based photo-editing tools will imminently be available to all Google Photos users without a subscription.
In the past, many of these features were restricted to Google’s own hardware; Magic Editor, for example, initially launched on Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, while Magic Eraser started out as a Pixel 6 exclusive. But this development means iPhone owners can enjoy access to the same tools without having to switch to an Android handset.
And without having to pay, too. In the past the company required users to have a Google One subscription in order to access its AI editing features. That won’t be the case any longer.
In its blog post Google highlights the following:
- Photo Unblur: Used to sharpen up blurry shots
- Magic Eraser: Removes unwanted people and objects and replaces them with realistic background
- Portrait Light: Adjusts the lighting in portrait photos
- Magic Editor: Used for complex edits such as repositioning subjects or changing the sky color
Google says the tools “will gradually roll out starting May 15 and over the following weeks to all devices that meet minimum requirements.” Those requirements, in the case of iPhone owners, mean a device running iOS 15 or later and with at least 3GB of RAM. (The most recent iPhone with less than 3GB was the iPhone 8 from 2017; even the 8 Plus from the same year had 3GB.)
Read our round up the best photo software to use on a Mac.
Author: David Price, Editor, Macworld
David has been writing about technology for well over two decades, and got on board the Apple hype train when covering the original iPhone launch in 2007. He is an enthusiastic Apple Watch evangelist and feels that the HomePod is misunderstood.