Tech

Samsung Galaxy devices can now use the Magic Editor via the Google Photos app

Published

5 months ago

June 7, 2024

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Samsung Galaxy devices can now use the Magic Editor via the Google Photos app

The Magic Editor debuted with last October’s Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro and takes the Magic Eraser, which first launched on 2021’s Pixel 6 series, to another level. While the Magic Eraser allows users to erase unwanted people, animals, or things that are captured in a photo, the Magic Editor allows users to move people, items, and animals anywhere in a picture or have them erased completely. The Magic Editor can also change the background including the sky which can be changed with presets named Sky, Golden Hour, and Stylized.

Originally available only on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, in late May Google added the feature to older Pixel models (it is now available, along with Unblur, on my Pixel 6 Pro) where it can be used for free. Meanwhile, other Android users and even iOS users can employ the Magic Editor for free but are limited to saving 10 edited photos per month. Most of you using an Android or iOS device will see a Magic Editor button introducing the feature the first time you edit a photo from the Google Photos app. Magic Editor is available on my iPhone 15 Pro Max although Unblur is not.

If you want to save an unlimited number of images edited using the Magic Editor on a non-Pixel Android or iPhone, you’ll need to sign up for 2TB of cloud storage from Google One (priced at $9.99 per month). Android users also need to have a phone running Android 8 or later, 4GB of RAM or higher, and a 64-bit chipset.

The Magic Editor on the Pixel 6 Pro helps a Pomeranian fly

Samsung Galaxy device owners have started to see Magic Editor rollout and compared to the Magic Eraser, the AI feature that replaces the background when you move or delete a person, item, or pet is much improved. There is a little delay while you wait for the editing to get done but that’s because the processing does not take place on-device but is done through Google’s servers in the cloud.

This is one aspect of AI that looks good and pays dividends quickly since you can see the changes right away. But Magic Editor’s usefulness has already been eclipsed by other AI features such as Samsung’s Live Translate which allows two people speaking different languages to take part in a traditional back-and-forth phone conversation with each person hearing the phone conversation in his or her native tongue.