Google’s Pixel smartphones have long been known for their great camera systems, but in recent years the company has taken to juicing its imaging platform with artificial intelligence features that expand its capabilities. Taking a photo is no longer just about tapping a shutter button and getting a nice picture. Now there are ways to erase undesirable objects, move subjects in your photos and let AI fill in the background, and even remove annoying sounds like sirens from videos. This year’s Pixel 9 series goes even further with more generative AI capabilities that can alter, improve, and generally goose your photos.
Google says it has completely rebuilt the Pixel 9 series’ HDR+ pipeline—the image processing algorithm that ensures your photos have the right levels of contrast, exposure, colors, and shadows. But new features like Add Me, Reimagine, Autoframe, and Zoom Enhance go past the capture stage and make it easier for anyone to perform tasks that previously required a little technical know-how in a photo-editing app. Here’s the breakdown.
And for a deep dive on how these features were developed, read my exclusive interview with members of Google’s Pixel camera team.
Add Me
Photograph: Joel Chokkattu
You’ve probably been in a situation where you want to take a selfie with your partner or family in front of a subject, like the Eiffel Tower, but someone has to take the picture, right? Instead of handing your $1,000 phone to a stranger, Add Me accomplishes the same task.
This is a special mode in the Pixel 9 phones that first asks you to scan the surrounding area briefly. Then you’ll snap a picture of your loved one in front of the subject, and then swap places. When they take over photo-capture duties, they’ll see a faded-out image of themselves in the camera preview, and the camera app will suggest a place for the second person to stand. Once they press the shutter button, it’ll superimpose the images so it appears as if both people were standing right next to each other, even when they weren’t.
It worked well in my brief testing, and naturally, I tried to see if I could duplicate myself. This worked once, but every other attempt failed. That’s because Google says it was not designed for the same person to show up twice. Maybe if you change your shirt or try to look different enough, it might do the trick. I’ll need to do more testing to see how well it works when you want to put your hand around another person’s shoulder.
Reimagine in Magic Editor
Photograph: Joel Chokkattu
Reimagine is the latest addition to Google’s Magic Editor, which currently lets you move subjects around a photo or erase objects. This new tool lets you select an area of a photo and then a text prompt pops up, where you can type in what you want to see as your end result. This can be anything ranging from turning the photo from daytime to nighttime, adding stormy clouds, or, like I tried, adding a UFO over the Empire State Building.