Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
TL;DR
- It’s no longer required to have a Pixel or a Google One subscription to use Magic Editor, Magic Eraser, or other Google Photos AI tools.
- Android and iOS users will get ten Magic Editor saves per month, while Pixel users will get as many as they want.
- Availability will start opening up on May 15 and over the following weeks to all devices that meet Google’s minimum requirements.
Google Photos offers various AI-powered editing tools, such as Magic Editor, Photo Unblur, and Magic Eraser. However, if you wanted to use these tools, it required you to have a Pixel or paid Google One subscription. Earlier this week, we saw evidence that Google could do away with this exclusivity, and now the company is making that change.
In a major shift, Google announced today that it is dropping the subscription requirement for a handful of its Photos app AI editing tools. Starting on May 15 and over the following weeks, any Google Photos user on Android, iOS, and Chrome OS will have access to the following tools:
- Magic Eraser
- Unblur
- HDR effect for photos and videos
- Portrait blur
- Portrait light
- Color pop
- Sky suggestions
- Cinematic photos
- Styles in collage editor
- Video effects
It’s not just mobile users getting in on the party either. The tech giant is expanding access to other types of devices as well, including Chromebooks — specifically Chromebook Plus models — and tablets. These devices will need to run Chrome OS version 118 and up. Android and iOS devices will need to have at least 3GB RAM and Android 8.0/iOS 15 or higher.
Magic Editor, which was previously exclusive to the Pixel 8 series, will also be available to more people. However, there will be a caveat: general Android and iOS users will only get ten Magic Editor saves per month. Pixel users of all kinds (not just Pixel 8 users) will not see this limit, nor will anyone with a Google One plan at 2TB and above.
