Apple finally unwrapped its new iPad Air, iPad Pro as well as the Apple Pencil Pro on May 7 at its much-anticipated Let Loose event. Prior to the launch, an AppleInsider report had suggested that the tech giant may have some serious Generative AI plans up its sleeve. Yep, it may finally be happening.
Here’s how the story goes. So, Apple added this easter egg to its website homepage ahead of its event which allowed you to wipe off the big colorful logo right above the event date. While this was a clear tease of the new Apple Pencil Pro, the community started digging deeper. Following that, an AppleInsider report talked about how Apple could be planning on rolling out a revamped version of its in-built Photos app.
According to the publication, this move will reportedly “tap generative AI to deliver Photoshop-grade editing capabilities for the average consumer.” The publication also reported that the brand is allegedly testing a feature within the Photos app internally, that will bring this AI magic to users.
This feature will reportedly be called Clean-Up and will replace the Retouch feature that shows up when you edit an image within the Photos app on your Mac. While on the iPad, since it doesn’t have Retouch, the Clean Up panel will be added to it maybe. Here’s how it will look:
Android has been way ahead in the Generative AI race with features like Magic Eraser, Best Take, and AI Generative Wallpapers being available for months now. If you look at it a bit more rationally, you will realize how the Clean Up feature could be Apple’s answer to Magic Eraser. With Magic Eraser, you can highlight or mark objects in an image and AI will get rid of it for you, while at the same time intelligently blending the background to cover it up. Take a look:
AppleInsider also talked about the Content-Aware Fill feature on Adobe Photoshop for the iPad, which is pretty similar. Later on, it became Generative Fill, and well, turns out, Clean Up on the Photos app is next.
Windows is not lagging behind either, introducing the Generative Erase feature within its Photos app for Insider users to try. So, it makes sense for Apple to finally buckle up and join the race. Otherwise, it’s going to be left way too far behind to get back in.
With the entry of M4 to the latest iPad Pro and Apple even going so far as to claim that it can beat any existing AI PC at the moment, the possibility of this feature making it the tablet in the future is pretty high.
Moreover, with Apple already having called its MacBook Air M3 the “best consumer laptop for AI,” it only makes sense for the brand to take that route for its tablets as well. Most importantly, if this turns out to be true, iPhone users will finally get what they have been waiting for over a year now – Generative AI features for iOS.
Is Apple finally stepping up in its Generative AI game? What do you think about it? Do let me know in the comments down below!
