Apple’s new AI photo editing tools mostly work, for better and worse
With iOS 27, Apple is adding its first set of substantive AI photo editing tools to the native Photos app, giving iPhone users capabilities that Android devices - particularly Google's Pixel phones - have offered for some time. The new features include options to reframe and extend images, as well as a clean-up tool for removing unwanted elements from a shot. For a platform that has long kept its Photos app relatively conservative in terms of editing depth, the additions represent a notable shift in Apple's approach.
The tools are available now in the iOS 27 developer beta, which means they are not yet in the hands of most users and could still be refined or adjusted before a wider public rollout. That context matters: first impressions from early testers suggest the features work reasonably well in many situations, but like most AI editing tools, they are imperfect and their results can vary depending on the complexity of the image.
Apple's entry point into AI photo editing is measured compared to what some competitors offer. Google's Pixel phones have had generative editing features - including object removal and scene expansion - baked into their image workflows for a couple of years. Apple is arriving later but with the advantage of an enormous installed base; the iPhone is widely considered the most-used camera in the world, meaning these tools will reach a vast number of people once iOS 27 is publicly released.
The broader question these features raise is one of intent and trust. AI editing tools that can extend a scene beyond its original frame or erase elements that were genuinely present blur the line between a photograph as a record and a photograph as a composed image. Apple has not historically been vocal about how it frames that distinction for users, and as these capabilities become standard across the industry, how platforms communicate what has been altered - and how much - is becoming an increasingly important consideration.
