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Some of the hottest selling points for Google Pixel phones are the exclusive Google software features, especially the photo editing tools. For example, if you want to use Google’s awesome Photo Unblur, you’ll need a Pixel 7 or Pixel 7 Pro. Now Magic eraserone of Google’s core Pixel features, is coming to countless other devices, including competitor iPhones and Android smartphones.
Magic Eraser launched with the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro phones. When the Pixel 6a was announced, it had no Magic Eraser on board, but the feature was added in a later update.
Google says all Google One subscribers, including iOS users, can use Magic Eraser in Google Photos. All Google Pixel owners should also have access to the feature.
Google One is a cloud storage and VPN subscription that gives you more space for your free Google account. Syncing photos and videos with Google Photos can be extremely useful, especially with today’s higher-resolution cameras and videos.
Magic Eraser is a smart erasing tool that can detect unwanted elements in the background and suggest removing them. These bits have been replaced with natural-looking, photo-realistic enhancements. You can select the background element you want to destroy, or let Magic Eraser do it for you.
In practice, Magic Eraser works remarkably well. Google was wise to make sure this feature was part of Google Photos and not baked into the Pixel phone cameras. That means you can edit any photo stored in Google’s cloud, not just photos taken recently.
This makes Magic Eraser great for cross-platform sharing as it already relies on Google’s cloud and machine learning. In fact, it makes us wonder what another great Google Photos feature is and if the days of exclusivity are numbered.
Google has long maintained that Photo Unblur remains exclusive to Pixel phones, and it currently only works with phones running the Tensor G2 chipset: the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. Still, like Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur can be found in the Google Photos app. Like Eraser, Photo Unblur lets you edit magic on any photo, not just those taken on Pixel phones.
Photo Unblur is fantastic, but Magic Eraser was always the real magic trick. Now that it’s coming to all Google One subscribers, we’d be surprised if Photo Unblur stays exclusive for much longer.
Google may have a new phone on the way in the coming months when the Pixel 7a launches mid-year, similar to past years. That would be a defining moment in determining whether Photo Unblur will be shared, or whether buying Google’s own hardware will continue to be a major selling point.
This wouldn’t stay exclusive for long
Frankly, the likely reason Google is sharing Magic Eraser across platforms is that major competitors will have similar offerings on the market soon enough if they haven’t already. Adobe offers context-aware editing, and Apple has “bring subject out of the background” on the iPhone.
Still, it was a great selling point for Google phones, and helped Google get away with it a bit. The cameras didn’t have to be so great if the photo editing tools could fix any photo. It actually turns out that Google Pixel phones have great cameras, especially if you spring for the Pro models. So maybe this wasn’t such an advantage after all.
Google won’t sit on its laurels as it gives away the best Pixel features. The next Pixel phone will likely include a new exclusive feature. Hopefully it’s something that amazes us as much as Magic Eraser and Photo Unblur. Maybe a deep fake detection tool to bring back those magically erased people.