Magic Eraser, one of the best features of the Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 6, is coming to older Pixel phones and Google Photos, allowing more people to use the AI-powered feature to neatly remove unwanted objects and humans from their photos.
This means that the likes of the Pixel 5a will get access to Magic Eraser as part of a rollout that’s already underway. And even iPhone users will be able to use Magic Eraser if they install the iOS version of Google Photos.
There is a minor catch: you’ll need to subscribe to Google One, a service that bundles premium access to a range of Google apps and tools, such as Drive and Gmail, for a monthly fee. Prices start at $1.99/ £1.59 a month.
For non-Pixel owners who take a lot of photos, paying the premium for Magic Eraser could be worth it. In our testing we found it to be a very effective tool at removing things from photos, say a person dawdling in the background of an otherwise clear landscape shot.
By using clever image processing, previously limited to Pixel devices with Google’s custom Tensor chips, Magic Eraser will analyze a photo and suggest objects for you to remove with just a tap or two. You can also highlight objects and areas manually to apply this post-processing.
And a lot of the time Magic Eraser will remove unwanted objects and people very effectively leaving little in the way of aberrations to give away obvious photo manipulation. Sure, those with a good eye for detail will notice some odd quirks, like shadows that don’t quite fit the image. And Magic Eraser isn’t the best when it comes to dealing with night photos where there are also indirect light sources, such as shop or car lights.
But it’s still a very impressive tool, and one that beats similar object erasers found in the photo apps on some of the best Android phones.
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