Google on the difference between Magic Eraser and Magic Editor’s Erase tool

Abner Li | Jul 30 2024 - 10:35 am PT

Google Photos recently made its AI editing tools free and the company is out with an interesting blog about tips and best practices. Of note is a section explaining the difference between Magic Eraser and the erase tool in Magic Editor.

In practice, I’ve found Magic Editor to be much better than Magic Eraser at naturally removing objects from a scene. If you want the best removal possible, spend time with Magic Editor. A senior product manager working on Google Photos explains the difference as such:

“Magic Eraser works best for quick fixes on smaller portions of the photo,” Selena says. For example, landscape shots with people or objects in the background are great candidates for using Magic Eraser, and it’s faster.”
“If you have more prominent, complex foreground objects, or objects that take up a larger portion of the photo in general that you want to remove, Magic Editor’s generative AI is going to be more effective at filling the space, Selena explains. In general, it’s better at performing more complex erases.”

Where using Magic Editor, Google also explains how it’s easier to tap “objects with clear boundaries.” Brushing and circling is for “objects with less distinct edges,” while you can pinch-to-zoom to make better selections.

The other tip is about using the strength slider for Portrait Light and Photo Unblur.

Also of note in this article is how Google says it was “definitely a challenge” to bring Magic Editor, Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, Portrait Light, and more to a “wide array of Android and iOS devices.”