Artificial intelligence has steadily woven its way into our daily tech, and the beloved Apple Photos app is no exception. At the recent WWDC, Apple unveiled a suite of exciting AI-powered updates for iOS 27, promising to transform how we edit, refine, and even alter our cherished memories.
As a long-time photography enthusiast who leans more towards traditional enhancements than radical AI manipulation, I approached these new tools with a healthy dose of skepticism. Could these features truly elevate my photos without feeling like “cheating”? I dove into the first iOS 27 developer beta to find out, and the results genuinely surprised me.
Diving into iOS 27’s AI Toolkit
The latest developer beta of iOS 27 introduces three distinct AI-powered capabilities designed to give you unprecedented control over your images. These tools are readily accessible, offering both refinements to existing features and brand-new ways to conceptualize your shots.
First up is the significantly improved Clean Up tool. Introduced with iOS 18.1, Clean Up aims to seamlessly erase unwanted objects or people from your photos, intelligently filling the void with surrounding details. While it previously had a reputation for being a bit inconsistent, iOS 27 promises a far more effective and accurate experience.
Next, we have the entirely new Extend tool, which is quite remarkable. This feature allows you to expand the boundaries of your photo, adding more space around your subject. The AI then ingeniously generates and fills in the newly extended areas, seamlessly blending with the existing background.
Finally, there’s the innovative Reframe tool, also known as Spatial Reframing. This powerful feature lets you subtly shift the angle or perspective of your photo, almost as if you’re physically repositioning the camera. It offers a fresh take on compositional adjustment without having to reshoot.
Before you get too excited to try these, a crucial word of caution: this is the first developer beta of iOS 27. It’s inherently unstable and not recommended for your primary device. I strongly advise installing it only on a spare iPhone to avoid potential data loss or performance issues. For my testing, I used an iPhone 15 Pro, as Apple Intelligence capabilities are currently supported only on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, along with the entire iPhone 16 and 17 lineups.
If you have a compatible device and are comfortable with beta software, installation is straightforward. Simply navigate to Settings > General > Software Update, then select “Beta Updates” and choose “iOS 27 Developer Beta.” After the download and installation, a quick restart will have you ready to explore these new AI wonders.
My Hands-On Experience: From Skeptic to Believer?
As an avid photographer, I love capturing moments as authentically as possible, often traveling with my wife to snap incredible scenes. While I’m all for tweaking colors, brightness, and contrast to enhance a shot, I’ve always viewed AI manipulation as a bit of a “cheat”—almost like rewriting history. However, I have used Clean Up in the past to remove minor distractions, so I was certainly open to giving these new tools a fair shot.
My first test was with the improved Clean Up tool. I chose a photo of a vibrant street performer in London, where several passersby were distracting from the main subject. In the Photos app, I tapped the editor icon, selected Tools, and then Clean Up.
To my delight, Clean Up automatically highlighted all the unwanted individuals. A quick tap on each allowed me to effortlessly erase them. The process felt incredibly seamless and far more accurate than previous versions; the AI cleanly removed the people and effectively filled in the background, making the performer truly pop.
Next, I moved on to the new Extend tool. I picked a selfie that was a bit too tightly framed, wanting to add some “breathing room” around myself. After selecting the Extend icon, I was prompted to pinch and zoom out to adjust the crop and create more space.
I zoomed out, repositioning myself to the lower-left corner of the frame. The photo gracefully extended, revealing more of the surrounding area. The AI-generated background blended surprisingly well, adding a new dimension to the picture without any noticeable flaws.
Finally, I experimented with the Reframe tool. For this, I chose a photograph of a statue, hoping to adjust its perspective slightly. After moving the image and tapping Reframe, the AI intelligently repositioned it.
Tapping the photo allowed me to toggle between the original and reframed versions, revealing the subtle yet impactful change. I particularly liked how the reframed version gave the statue’s face a more intriguing, sideways glance. This tool proved to be remarkably effective in subtly altering the mood and focus of the image.
The Verdict: Are These AI Tools Worth It?
Despite my initial reservations about AI-driven photo manipulation, I have to admit that iOS 27’s new tools are genuinely useful and surprisingly fun to experiment with. Both the enhanced Clean Up and the innovative Reframe tools impressed me significantly, offering precise and natural-looking results.
While the Extend tool was also effective, it didn’t thrill me quite as much as the other two. Still, I can certainly see myself integrating these capabilities into my regular photo editing workflow. Given that this is only the first developer beta, I’m incredibly excited to see how Apple refines and expands these AI features even further in future iterations.
Source: ZDNet – AI
