What is it and how does it work?

At Google I/O 2023, Google announced a cool new upcoming feature for Google Photos called Magic Editor. With the power of AI, Google Photos will soon be able to make some rather unreal edits to your favorite pics. But what is Magic Editor, and how does it work? We explain this in this article!

What is Magic Editor in Google Photos? How does it work?

Google Photos is one of the most popular photo gallery apps on Android. It gained early popularity through Google’s free upload promotion, allowing users to upload unlimited high-quality photo backups to their Google account. While the perk is no longer unlimited, its popularity has carried over as the app has continuously added new features over the years.

Magic Editor is one such feature that Google is adding that will increase the utility of Google Photos. Google is making use of generative AI and other AI techniques to make complex edits to a photo without needing relevant pro-level editing skills.

Framing

One of the prime features that Google showed off in its demo was how Magic Editor would be able to help reframe a photo that has already been taken. Magic Editor will allow you to reposition the subject of your shot to the best spot in the frame.

This is great for people who may have a basic vision of the photo but may not have realized the imperfection in their photo at the time of capture. With the magic of AI, they can match their executed photo to their vision.

Generating new content

Magic Editor is heavily reliant on generative AI, and that allows it to excel in tasks that require generating new content. As shown in the I/O demo, Google Photos could remove the unsightly strap of a bag on a person, using generative AI to fill in content for what was behind that strap.

With both framing and new content generating, Magic Editor can pull off some complex tricks.

In its demos, Google showed off how you could reposition a person from standing on the offside of the waterfall to being perfectly positioned near it.

In the second demo, Magic Editor would let you pull the kid to the center of the image, using the power of generative AI to generate extensions for the bench and the balloons.

When will Google Photos’ Magic Editor become available?

Early access to Google Photos’ Magic Editor feature will be rolled out to select Pixel phones by the end of 2023. Google has not provided a narrower timeframe for early access. We’ll have to wait a while for the feature to graduate from early access to a stable release channel.

Google will be using the early access preview as an opportunity to gather feedback from users and make improvements. So this early access preview is very important to the success of Magic Editor.

Is Google Photos’ Magic Editor only available for Google One subscribers and Pixel users?

Google has mentioned that Magic Editor will be available only on select Pixel phones. There has been no mention of Google One subscribers in their announcement.

If we are allowed to speculate, we believe the feature will likely be restricted to Pixel phones with the Tensor and Tensor G2 SoCs, so the Pixel 6 series and Pixel 7 series (including A-series). There’s a chance that older Pixel phones may not make the cut. Further, it would make sense that when the feature graduates from early access, it remains restricted to paid Google One subscribers. We will update this article when Google confirms any further details.