After a brief and accidental hiatus, Google Photos restores its most exciting feature
Software development is a precarious business, as Google knows probably better than anybody else. One of the company’s most recent blunders saw the nifty new Magic Eraser tool disappear from Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro phones when a borked version of Google Photos was rolled out. You could avoid losing the feature by simply not updating the app, but Google’s latest update fixes the issue and restores the tool to its former glory.
The errant app build was 5.67.0.409192963, but a patched version with an almost identical number is now making its way to people’s phones, with Magic Eraser intact. Version 5.67.0.409448818 will arrive via the Google Play Store as usual, but you can also sideload it if you’re really impatient — grab it from APK Mirror (this exact version works for me), if so. For those of you who disabled updates so you wouldn’t lose access to one of the most exciting camera features on Google’s latest flagship phones, you can now let the Play Store go ahead and bring Google Photos up to speed without worrying.
If you’re wondering what all the fuss is about, Magic Eraser is a long-awaited Google Photos feature that uses AI to help you remove objects and people from the background of photos you take. It’s not perfect, by any means, but does an excellent job in certain situations and is truly impressive for a first-generation feature — we can expect it to get better over time, too. Check out some of the best (and worst) examples to see what the fancy new tool can do, and although it’s supposed to be exclusive to Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, there is a way to get it working on older Pixel phones if you’re willing to put in a bit of effort.
Thanks: Mishaal Rahman
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