Google Pixel 8's Flagship AI Photo Editing Feature Coming to iPhones

Google next month will make its latest AI-powered photo editing feature available to all users of Google Photos on iOS, the company has announced.

Magic Editor, which featured heavily in last year's Google Pixel 8 series marketing blitz, uses generative AI to perform complicated photo edits, such as filling in gaps in a photo, repositioning subjects, and additional foreground/background adjustments like making a cloudy, grey sky look blue.

The edits mimic the kind of possibilities afforded by more professional editing tools like Photoshop, except Magic Editor achieves its automated results via AI, rather than the user having to do them manually.

The editing tool debuted as one of the headline AI features on the company's flagship phone when it launched six months ago, and has since been exclusive to Google Pixel 8 owners and Google One subscribers. The tool will become available to all users of Google Photos starting May 15.

Google Photos for iOS and Android will include 10 Magic Editor saves per month. To use more than that, users will need to buy a Premium Google One plan, which starts at 2TB of storage for $10 per month or $100 annually.

In addition to Magic Editor, Google is bringing several more editing tools to Google Photos, including Photo Unblur, Sky suggestions, Color pop, HDR effect for photos and videos, Portrait Blur, Portrait Light (plus its add light/balance light features), Cinematic Photos, Styles in the Collage Editor, and Video Effects.

To use the AI features, Apple devices must be running iOS 15 or later. Google Photos is a free download for iPhone and iPad available on the App Store.