Google makes its ‘magic’ camera features available for FREE today as main rollout begins on Android – iPhone users benefit too

GOOGLE has started rolling out its flagship AI camera features to everyone today – including iPhones soon.

Users eagerly awaited access to the company’s popular Magic Editor tool, which allows people to effortlessly move objects in images.

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It also includes several other easy tricks like Photo Unblur and Magic Erase.

Until now, they were only available to paid Google Photos users or those who own the latest Google Pixel smartphone.

Last month, the tech giant announced that the features would be free for everyone starting May 15th.

That date came and went without any changes, which left fans wondering if they would show up.

Days later, several owners of older Google Pixel phones reported that the freebies had arrived on their devices.

“I bought it a little while ago on my 6th,” wrote a Pixel owner on Reddit.

“No. Maybe until the feature launches in June if I’m lucky,” commented another.

Google initially said the features will be rolled out gradually, so it may take some time for everyone to get them.

There are no reports of iPhone owners noticing this yet.

They will be available through the Google Photos app, the company’s image storage service that hosts more than 4 trillion photos for more than a billion users around the world.

However, there are some limitations.

Each user can only make ten saved edits per month for free.

Paid subscribers and Pixel owners can create as many as they want.

Devices must also meet minimum requirements for features to function properly.

For an iPhone it’s at least iOS 15 or and on Android you’ll need version 8.0 or higher.

And your phone must have at least a 64-bit chip and 4GB of RAM.

WHY IS GOOGLE OFFERING ITS TOP FEATURES?

Analysis by Jamie Harris, senior technology and science reporter at The Sun

The AI ​​scene is really heating up, with everything from super-smart voice assistants to AI-generated answers to questions right in your searches.

But these tools don’t come cheap for the companies that make them.

Some require many data centers that consume a lot of energy to operate.

Earlier this year, Samsung announced its own AI photo features, but only committed to making them free by the end of 2025, at least for now.

There’s no doubt that some AI features are popular, especially photo editing features like Google’s, making it easier to remove objects and make changes that would previously require a lot of manual work in Photoshop.

But are people willing to pay for them? That’s the real question – and I suspect the vast majority will say no after spending a lot on their smartphone.

Google’s decision to offer limited access to its core AI features to everyone — including the iPhone — is a smart one to get more people using the Google Photos app.

However, many of these features have been carried over from the Pixel phone and risk making people less inclined to opt for Google’s own handset.