Apple adds cloud-powered AI image editing to iOS 27 Photos app with Clean Up upgrade, Extend and Reframe tools
Apple announced three AI-powered photo editing tools for iOS 27: an upgraded Clean Up feature for object removal, Extend for generating content around image borders, and Reframe for changing photo angles. The features use a combination of on-device and cloud AI models, marking a shift from Apple's previous on-device-only approach.
Apple adds cloud-powered AI image editing to iOS 27 Photos app with Clean Up upgrade, Extend and Reframe tools
Apple announced three new AI-powered photo editing features for the Photos app in iOS 27, available later this year on iPhone, Mac, and Vision Pro.
Clean Up upgrade
Apple's existing Clean Up tool has been upgraded to use "smarter AI models" that can handle object removal in more complex scenes. The feature previously relied solely on on-device processing.
New Extend tool
Extend allows users to generate content around the borders of existing images, effectively expanding photos beyond their original frames. The tool sends images to cloud servers for processing.
New Reframe tool
Reframe lets users change a photo's angle or zoom out using multi-touch gestures. After selecting the desired angle, the iPhone sends the image to a cloud server for processing when the user presses Save.
Cloud processing shift
All three features now use a combination of on-device and cloud AI models, according to Apple. This marks a departure from Apple's traditional emphasis on on-device-only processing for privacy reasons.
Apple did not disclose technical details about the AI models powering these features, including model architecture, parameter count, or whether they are proprietary or based on existing frameworks.
What this means
Apple's shift to cloud processing for image editing indicates the company recognizes that competitive AI features require compute resources beyond what on-device models can provide. The move puts Apple's Photos app capabilities closer to competitors like Google Photos, which has offered similar AI editing features using cloud processing. The addition of generative capabilities like Extend represents Apple's most direct entry into AI image generation for consumer products.
Related Articles
Apple Intelligence adds cross-app context awareness, one-tap password fixes, and AI-generated Safari extensions
Apple announced a suite of Apple Intelligence updates across iOS apps, including cross-app context awareness that surfaces email details during phone calls, one-tap AI-powered password updates, and natural language Shortcuts creation. Safari gains AI-generated extensions, while Photos gets spatial reframing and improved object removal.
Apple overhauls Image Playground with natural language editing and multi-subject generation
Apple announced significant updates to Image Playground at WWDC 2026, adding natural language editing capabilities and multi-subject generation from Photos library. The updates address previous quality concerns, though hands-on testing has not yet been conducted.
Apple launches standalone Siri app with conversation history and multi-modal interface
Apple announced a standalone Siri app at WWDC 2026, marking what the company calls the assistant's biggest transformation. The app archives conversation history, supports text and voice input plus document and image uploads, and syncs across Apple devices via iCloud.
Apple to integrate Google Gemini into Siri, launch standalone AI app at WWDC 2026
Apple will unveil a major Siri upgrade powered by Google's Gemini technology at WWDC 2026, according to reports. The company is also launching a standalone Siri app to compete with ChatGPT and Claude, plus an AI agent integration in the App Store.
Comments
Loading...