Editing photos on your mobile phone is troublesome. Yes, we can easily apply filters, but other than that we can’t do much. Even though we had applications like Lightroom or Canvas, the actual editing possibilities were very limited. However, this year the situation has changed thanks to artificial intelligence. And the good news is It will not be exclusive to upper levels Like Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel. Today, OPPO announced that these AI functions will come to its entire device catalog, from the Find X to the most affordable A series, before the end of 2024.

We were invited by OPPO at Xataka to an event in London where they showed us how their new AI tool works. And we particularly liked one of them: AI Eraser. A photo editing tool that uses artificial intelligence to remove objects or people extremely easily. It is not the only manufacturer to have this option in the Android ecosystem, but it is the manufacturer that implemented it in the most striking way.

One more option in the photo gallery. We click on edit in AI Eraser and We draw a circle with our finger on the thing we want to delete.. It doesn’t need to be precise because that’s the beauty of AI. The function itself understands what we want to hide. Whether it’s a person passing by, a strange object, or a building in the background. We draw a circle and instantly the AI ​​will be able to very well pick out the exact shape of what we want to erase.

Editing photos with AI is so much fun

In a few seconds and with a very cool animation, the AI ​​eraser will completely hide this element and add the appropriate background so that the image still makes sense. Because that’s exactly his power. Previously image editors only took advantage of the colors around what we were erasing, but artificial intelligence is going further. He “understands” that the photo is a football field or a square full of tourists and “knows” where to place it.

After spending some time with this OPPO tool, the truth is I’m totally addicted. In my particular case I have a Pixel and the new Magic Editor also has this option. After I stopped testing the OPPO model, I went to my personal phone to compare the results and did the same with my photos. Although AI Eraser is clearer in design and faster to use, the two tools achieve very similar results.

And here’s what I think is the key to this function. How practical and simple. Just like applying filters is a lot of fun and that’s why they’ve become so popular, I think these AI editors can go on a similar journey. We soon saw an explosion in its use. According to data from OPPO in China, users who have this option are using it an average of 15 times a day. In some countries, such as India, its usage is even higher, around 25 times a day.

“The first few days I had to delete all the people who had nothing to do with my photos,” an OPPO engineer told us during the demonstration. Obviously I was demoing the tool, but the next day I found myself doing something similar to pass the time. I was already hooked on editing photos on my phone and deleting unwanted people and elements.

We can also see the before and after with a single click. Sometimes the AI ​​fails when placing text, but this is still something that productive AI in general still struggles with. Fortunately, with versions like Midjourney V6, we’ve found that this doesn’t usually fail anymore. If AI Eraser is already very convincing, we are sure that by the end of the year all tools in this style will be very, very accurate. As explained by OPPO, the tool detects more than one 120 different types of object categories and achieves precision at the “different hairs of the hair” level.

To operate, AI Eraser is based on a “Hybrid AI” model. So, half connectivity in the cloud, half processing on the device itself. In the first version coming to Europe, AI Eraser needs an internet connection to work. But already in the Chinese version offline use allowed. In this case, a data package of approximately 1 GB in size must be downloaded from the settings.

The way forward for all manufacturers

According to IDC data, it is expected that by 2024 there will be approximately 35 million devices that will offer productive artificial intelligence for under 1,000 Euros. OPPO explains that its intention is to incorporate AI into its entire catalogue, and boasts of having 5,399 AI-related patents, around 70% of which are display-related.

In addition to AI Eraser, OPPO also has its own AI assistant, Breeno. OPPO mobile phones add contextual suggestions, shortcuts, gestures and automatic reminders through its use. AI summaries based on what appears on the screen will also be coming soon.

OPPO is not alone in this push towards AI in mobile software. They are implementing it together with Gemini and Google; Along with Microsoft and audio conversion, and with Qualcomm and MediaTek as chip suppliers. This It will be the year of artificial intelligence in mobile phones. It’s an AI that will come in many forms, but we’re confident that at least one will be successful. There has been great progress in mobile photo editing.

in Xataka | Generative AI is widening the gap between those focused on it locally and those focused on the cloud. There is room for both