Apple brings AI object removal to iOS

Taking a great photo only to find a stranger photobombing in the background is a universal annoyance. Android users have had Google's Magic Eraser for a while, and now Apple is finally bringing its own take to the iPhone.

In the latest developer betas for iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS 15.1, Apple introduced Clean Up, an AI-powered object removal tool inside the Photos app.

Erasing shadows and reflections

The feature works similarly to other eraser tools, but with some clever Apple polish. The Photos app automatically identifies distracting objects in the background, allowing you to remove them with a single tap.

If the system misses something, you can circle or brush over the unwanted area yourself. You can also zoom in to handle tighter, more detailed spots.

According to Apple, the tool uses generative AI to fill in the background seamlessly. Impressively, it can recognize and erase the shadows and reflections cast by unwanted items. It even works if the distracting object slightly overlaps your main subject.

Best of all, Clean Up is backward compatible. It works on every picture in your camera roll, whether taken on an old iPhone, an iPad, or imported from a DSLR.

Apple Intelligence in slow motion

The update also brought one minor enhancement: notification summaries, which were previously limited to Mail and Messages, now support other apps.

Still, much of the promised Apple Intelligence suite remains missing. Genmoji, image generation, Siri's personal context and in-app actions, and ChatGPT integration have yet to appear in developer builds.

Hardware requirements remain steep. You need an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or an M1-powered Mac or iPad, with your device language and region set to US English.

Keep in mind that these AI tools will not launch with the initial release of iOS 18 alongside the iPhone 16 next month. Apple is expected to roll them out to the public with iOS 18.1 in October.

Why it matters

For regular users, object removal is easily one of the most practical and immediate consumer AI features. Writing tools and mail summaries are nice, but cleaning up vacation photos is something everyone actually wants. The ability to apply this to older DSLR shots right inside the native camera roll is a genuine quality-of-life win.

For the industry, however, Apple is simply playing catch-up. Google pioneered Magic Eraser years ago and made it free across Google Photos earlier this year. Samsung has heavily marketed similar generative editing tools across the Galaxy lineup.

We think Apple's piecemeal rollout shows just how behind schedule its AI platform really is. Launching flagship hardware next month without its headline AI software ready out of the box is a risky compromise. It keeps Apple in the conversation, but until marquee features like the new Siri and ChatGPT integration land, Apple Intelligence feels more like a patchwork preview than a finished platform.