Apple Could Unveil an AI-Powered Photo Editing Feature at the Let Loose Event: Report

Apple is reportedly working on an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered photo editing feature which it might unveil soon. The Cupertino-based tech giant is hosting its Let Loose event on Tuesday, where it is expected to introduce new iPad Air and iPad Pro models and a new Apple Pencil. It is said that during the event, the company might also tease its new AI feature, and then introduce it later in 2024. Notably, Apple researchers have also published a paper on an AI model capable of editing images.

According to a report by AppleInsider, Apple is working on an AI-powered feature dubbed ‘Clean Up’ which is said to offer “Photoshop-grade editing capabilities” to users. Citing people familiar with the matter, the report claimed that the feature is currently being internally tested and is designed for the in-house Photos app. It further stated that the feature was being planned for macOS 15, but did not specify whether it would also be available on iOS 18 and iPadOS 18.

This feature is reported to be located within the edit menu of the new version of the Photos app. There are three options Adjust, Filter, and Crop, and the Clean Up feature can be found within the Adjust menu. As for what it does, the feature is said to remove background objects from one part of the image, which can be selected using the brush tool. A similar tool is also available in Google’s Pixel smartphones.

Interestingly, earlier this year, Apple researchers published a paper titled Guiding Instruction-Based Image Editing Via Multimodal Large Language Models, which mentioned an AI model that can make complex edits in an image with simple prompts and actions. If the report about the Clean Up feature is true, there is a chance it could be based on this LLM.

The report also highlighted that there is a chance that the tech giant could tease this feature during its Let Loose event. This would make sense if the company also intends to release the feature for the iPad. An earlier report mentioned that Apple might introduce the new iPad Pro with the M4 chipset that carries a new neural engine capable of running AI features. The company could also introduce it as an AI device.