Magic Eraser debuted with Android 12, and it’s a feature that everyone is talking about. Now the feature itself isn’t new to photographers. We’ve seen features like this available in other photo editing apps and software, like Photoshop for many years. But Google is making Magic Eraser super easy to get too, and use on your phone. Since you don’t need to download another app, load up your photo and do it, then export it. As a competitor to Google used to say, it just works.
What is the “Magic Eraser”?
What exactly is the “Magic Eraser”? Well, it is essentially a tool that can erase things from your photo. This could be a whole person, a car, or even some leaves on the ground – since it is currently fall. Google uses software and AI, of course, to make this happen. The AI is used to help give you some suggested edits for the picture. Like taking out someone that’s in your photo that you don’t want there. It, surprisingly works really well. However it is not perfect. It works much better with larger subjects, or those that can be separated from the background. Removing some leaves from the ground isn’t a great way to show this off. As the camera is unable to separate the leaves from the grass, since both are on the same level. But something like a portrait photo of a person, and someone being in the picture behind that person, can be removed without you even knowing they were there. And that, is awesome.
How To Use Magic Eraser
Head into the Google Photos app, and find the picture you want to use Magic Eraser on. This will work on any photo in your library, not just those taken with the Pixel 6 series. Now, tap on the “Edit” button.
From there, you’ll want to tap on “Tools”. Next, tap on “Magic Eraser”. For most photos, this will be the only options in the tools section.
Now, Google Photos is going to look for suggestions for things to remove from your photo. It will suggest things like people, or even cars to remove. But you can also remove these items yourself.
To remove or erase things from your photo, draw a circle around the object. Continue drawing circles around objects until you have your photo the way you want it. You can also undo different objects, by clicking the back arrow at the bottom.
Now, tap on “Done”. Then, if there are no other edits that you want to do with this photo, tap on “Save Copy”. Thankfully, it will not overwrite your original photo.
And that is it. That’s how easy it is to use Magic Eraser on the photos from your Google Photos library.
— Alexander Maxham (@alexmaxham) October 26, 2021
What devices does Magic Eraser work with?
While Magic Eraser debuted on the Pixel 6 series in 2021, it is not limited to the Pixel 6 series. You can find any photo in your Google Photos app, and use the Magic Eraser on it. However, currently, Magic Eraser only works on the Pixel 6. So if you have a Pixel 5 and go into the Google Photos app, you won’t see the Magic Eraser option in there. But, if you have pictures in your library taken with a Pixel 5, you can use the Magic Eraser on your Pixel 6 to remove objects in those photos. It’s all a bit complicated, but expect this feature to roll out to more smartphones in the coming months. Likely with the next Pixel Feature Drop, it’ll come to older Pixel phones.
