Google Photos is one of the most popular photo apps in the world, with over a billion users. It offers a variety of features to help you organize, edit, and share your photos. One of the latest features that Google introduced at its I/O 2023 event is the Magic Editor, an experimental editing tool that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help you make complex edits to your photos.
What is Magic Editor and how does it work?
Magic Editor is a new editing experience that uses generative AI to help you reimagine your photos and make editing even easier. It allows you to make edits to specific parts of an image, such as the subject, sky, or background, so you have more control over the final look and feel of your photo.
Magic Editor uses a combination of AI techniques, including generative adversarial networks (GANs), to create realistic and seamless edits. GANs are a type of AI model that consist of two networks: a generator and a discriminator. The generator tries to create new content that looks like the original, while the discriminator tries to tell the difference between the real and the fake. By competing with each other, the networks learn to improve their outputs and produce high-quality results.
What can Magic Editor do?
Magic Editor can help you improve the overall composition of your photo by allowing you to reposition the subject of your shot to the best spot. For example, if you want to center yourself in a selfie, you can simply drag and drop yourself to the middle of the frame. Magic Editor will then fill in the gaps with realistic content, such as the background or the foreground, using generative AI.
Magic Editor can also help you change the mood and atmosphere of your photo by allowing you to edit the sky and the background. For example, if you want to make your photo look more sunny and bright, you can replace the cloudy sky with a clear one. Magic Editor will then adjust the lighting and the colors of the rest of the image to match the new sky.
Magic Editor can also help you remove unwanted objects or people from your photo by using the Magic Eraser tool. For example, if you want to get rid of a photobomber or a trash can, you can simply tap on them and Magic Eraser will erase them from the photo. Magic Eraser will then fill in the empty space with realistic content, such as the background or the foreground, using generative AI.
How to access Magic Editor?
Magic Editor is currently an experimental feature that is only available on select Pixel phones. Google plans to give early access to Magic Editor to Pixel 8 users later this year. To access Magic Editor, you need to open Google Photos on your Pixel phone and select a photo you want to edit. Then, you need to tap on the edit button and look for the Magic Editor icon. Once you tap on it, you will see a list of editing options, such as reposition, sky, background, and erase. You can then choose the option you want and start editing your photo.
What are the limitations of Magic Editor?
Magic Editor is a powerful and innovative tool that can help you transform your photos, but it also has some limitations and challenges. One of the limitations is that Magic Editor will not work on certain types of photos, such as ID cards, receipts, or documents that violate Google’s GenAI terms. This is to prevent users from misusing the tool and creating fake or misleading content.
Another limitation is that Magic Editor will not work on images with personally identifiable information, such as faces or body parts. This is to protect users’ privacy and prevent identity theft or fraud. Google has implemented several “guardrails” to prevent users from fooling the Magic Editor AI and editing these types of images.
A third limitation is that Magic Editor will not work on large selected areas in a photo. This is because the tool requires a lot of data to generate realistic content, and editing large areas can result in errors or poor quality. Google advises users to keep their selections short and sweet, and to use the zoom function to edit smaller details.
What is the future of Magic Editor?
Magic Editor is a new and experimental feature that Google is still developing and improving. Google hopes to get feedback from users and learn from their experiences to make the tool better and more reliable. Google also hints that Magic Editor might gain more features in the future, such as prompt-based editing. This would allow users to make edits using text commands, such as “move me to the left” or “change the sky to sunset”. This would make the editing process even easier and more intuitive.
Magic Editor is a revolutionary feature that sets a new standard in AI-based photo editing. It offers users a simple and fun way to reimagine their photos and make complex edits with just a few taps. Magic Editor is currently exclusive to Pixel phones, but Google might expand it to other devices and platforms in the future.