Google Photos users will soon get the best AI editing tools on Pixel devices for free
Google today announced that its AI photo editing tools, currently exclusive to Pixel phones, are coming to Google Photos on May 15. The features are coming to Pixel tablets as well.
Anyone with a Google account will thus soon have access to Magic Editor, Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, and Portrait Light, no subscription required. The only caveat is that, to get more than 10 Magic Erasure saves per month, you'll need a Premium Google One plan (2TB and above) .
Also: How to create animated 'Cinematic' photos in Google Photos
If you've never experienced Google's AI-powered photo editing features, here's a brief description of each:
- Magic Editor makes it easy to do complicated photo edits, such as repositioning a subject or changing the color of backgrounds.
- Magic Eraser lets you remove items from photos and make it look like they were never there.
- Photo Unblur is exactly what it sounds like. If you've taken a blurry photo, Google's AI works to clean up the photo.
- Portrait Light applies less harsh, more appealing lighting to faces.
The update to Google Photos will roll out over a few weeks starting on May 15 to all devices that meet the minimum requirements. According to Google, some of the features will only work on the following:
- Google One members: the Web or in the Google Photos app for Android or iOS
- Chromebook Plus users: the Google Photos Android app for Chrome OS
- Pixel users: the Google Photos Android app
Google's announcement says that when using Google Photos, "Your device must be a Chromebook Plus with ChromeOS version 118+ or have at least 3 GB RAM and Android 8.0/iOS 15 or higher. Feature availability varies by device."
The same announcement also notes that Magic Editor will not be available to devices that do not meet the minimum system requirements (Google does not state what those minimums are for these new features, but does point to this Google Photos Help webpage).