Pixel 6a’s “Magic Eraser” camouflage feature gets demoed

One of the many things that Google previewed at I/O 2022 was the highly anticipated Pixel 6a and the many specs and features that are likely to make this phone a best seller for Google. One of the features announced that would give this device an edge over others is an enhanced version of the already popular “Magic Eraser” in Google Photos, which removes unwanted items in a photo. The enhanced version will take this a step further by allowing you to change the color and shading of distracting objects so that they blend in naturally with the rest of the photo.

Magic Eraser in @GooglePhotos still erases unwanted objects—but now you can change the color of an object so it pops out or blends into its surroundings on #Pixel6a!#GoogleIO pic.twitter.com/jtTwBg1wkw

— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) May 11, 2022

Just days from the Pixel 6a’s full retail release, we are being treated to a few more examples of this enhanced “Magic Eraser” in action, courtesy of Esper’s Mishaal Rahman, who shared his discovery on Twitter. In the video he shared below, you can see how he uses the magic eraser on the bright blue benches on the bottom right, which in turn “camouflage” or change colors into a more muted tone that matches the pavement.

Testing out Magic Eraser's new Camouflage feature, which dulls colors from distracting objects, on a photo of the SpaceX Falcon 9 booster exhibit in Houston. Pretty neat huh? pic.twitter.com/WK7TB97YbW

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) July 18, 2022

Rahman also confirmed that the feature isn’t officially rolled out yet, but is already built into the latest version (v5.98) of the Google Photos app. Since this was a feature announced as a Pixel 6a exclusive, at least at the beginning, we expect it to go live once the phone goes on sale. Pre-orders for the Pixel 6a open this Thursday, and the phone will be available for purchase from retailers on the 28th.

I personally like the camouflage feature better than the feature to get rid of objects completely. Sure they both have their use cases, but I find that depending on the photo’s composition, there can be a lot of room for error, and the result isn’t always desirable. However, by camouflaging the unwanted object, you are still leaving it in the photos but just muting it, so it essentially disappears in the background.