Apple May Finally Have an Answer to Google’s Magic Eraser

May. 10, 2024

Apple finally unwrapped its newiPad Air,iPad Proas well as the Apple Pencil Pro on May 7 at its much-anticipatedLet Looseevent. Prior to the launch, an AppleInsiderreporthad suggested that the tech giant may have some seriousGenerative AI plansup its sleeve. Yep, itmayfinally be happening.

Here’s how the story goes. So,Apple added this easter eggto its website homepage ahead of its event which allowed you towipe off the big colorful logoright above the event date. While this was a clear tease of the newApple Pencil Pro, the community started digging deeper. Following that, an AppleInsiderreporttalked about how Apple could be planning on rolling out a revamped version of its in-builtPhotosapp.

According to the publication, this move will reportedly“tap generative AI to deliver Photoshop-grade editing capabilities for the average consumer.”The publication also reported that the brand is allegedly testing a feature within the Photos app internally, that will bring this AI magic to users.

This feature will reportedly becalled Clean-Up and will replace the Retouch featurethat shows up when you edit an image within the Photos app on your Mac. While on the iPad, since it doesn’t have Retouch, the Clean Up panel will be added to it maybe. Here’s how it will look:

Android has been way ahead in the Generative AI race with features like Magic Eraser,Best Take, andAI Generative Wallpapersbeing available for months now. If you look at it a bit more rationally, you will realize how the Clean Up feature could be Apple’s answer to Magic Eraser. With Magic Eraser, you can highlight or mark objects in an image and AI will get rid of it for you, while at the same time intelligently blending the background to cover it up. Take a look:

AppleInsider also talked about the Content-Aware Fill feature on Adobe Photoshop for the iPad, which is pretty similar. Later on, it became Generative Fill, and well, turns out, Clean Up on the Photos app is next.

Windows is not lagging behind either, introducing theGenerative Erasefeature within its Photos app for Insider users to try. So, it makes sense for Apple to finally buckle up and join the race. Otherwise, it’s going to be left way too far behind to get back in.

With the entry of M4 to the latest iPad Pro and Apple even going so far as to claim that it can beat any existing AI PC at the moment, the possibility of this feature making it the tablet in the future is pretty high.

Moreover, with Apple already having called itsMacBook Air M3the“best consumer laptop for AI,”it only makes sense for the brand to take that route for its tablets as well. Most importantly, if this turns out to be true, iPhone users will finally get what they have been waiting for over a year now – Generative AI features for iOS.

Is Apple finally stepping up in its Generative AI game? What do you think about it? Do let me know in the comments down below!

Sagnik is a tech aficionado who can never say “no” to dipping his toes into unknown waters of tech or reviewing the latest gadgets. He is also a hardcore gamer, having played everything from Snake Xenzia to Dead Space Remake.