Upscaling App Gigapixel 8 Leans Heavily Into Using AI to Repair Pixelated Photos

Oct 28, 2024

Jeremy Gray

A close-up of a woman with long blonde hair against a backdrop of blurred, warm-toned lights. The image is split down the middle, with one side slightly brighter, highlighting her facial features.

Like its predecessor, Topaz Labs’ new Gigapixel 8 application uses artificial intelligence (AI) to intelligently upscale photos. Version 8.0 takes it up a notch by using AI to sharpen images further.

Gigapixel 8 can upscale and enhance any image to 16 times its original size, ensuring photographers can create huge prints, even if a photo was shot at low-resolution or with an old camera.

A woman with long blonde hair is depicted on a split image. The left side is unprocessed, showing her smiling, while the right side is labeled "Gigapixel AI," revealing enhanced details. She wears a dark jacket and is seated with knees drawn up. — Before (left) versus after (right)

A sleek white sports car with illuminated taillights is parked in a dimly lit urban alleyway. Neon lights cast colorful reflections on the brick walls, creating a futuristic ambiance. — Before (left) versus after (right)

The software’s upscaling model is trained on millions of diverse photos to ensure that each image is properly upscaled, with pixels being added where they make sense to maintain a sharp, realistic-looking final (much larger) photo.

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Beyond using this to increase the size and resolution of modern digital photographs, Gigapixel 8 also includes tools specifically for restoring images using the same artificial intelligence technology that underpins upscaling. With a new Recover model, users can restore missing detail in old photos and scans.

A vintage photograph split between a black-and-white and a restored sepia tone. It depicts a woman with her head resting on her hand, dressed in early 20th-century attire, with a backdrop of ornate patterns. — Before (left) versus after (right)

This sort of AI is also used in Face Recovery Gen2, which identifies faces in images to reveal lost details in the faces of portrait subjects, including clearing away pixelation, dust, and distractions. Topaz Labs says that Face Recovery Gen2 offers a more realistic output ahn its predecessor, including better performance with people wearing glasses and when dealing with people’s teeth.

Side-by-side comparison of an image showing a young woman. The left image is labeled "Before," and the right "After," with the "After" image appearing smoother and slightly edited with enhanced lighting. She has long dark hair and is wearing a dark top.

There are two options here, Creative and Realistic, which provide users more control over the final output. As the name suggests, Creative uses more generative AI, while Realistic relies more heavily on an image’s existing pixels.

This same generative AI technology is also featured in an all-new Redefine model within Gigapixel 8. While many users may only want to use Gigapixel 8 to upscale and clean up their pictures, others may want to change the nature of their photos altogether. Redefine lets users choose between recovering low-res or blurry images or changing the images themselves.

A scenic view of a snowy mountainside with a lodge, surrounded by a lake. Evergreen trees dusted with snow and vibrant orange and yellow foliage frame the foreground, while misty clouds hover above the forest in the background. — Gigapixel 8 includes generative AI features for redefining an image’s look and content

Photographers can add natural detail to an image, like texture or reflections, or augment the entire scene using text-prompt input. For example, a photographer could take a landscape shot in the summer or fall and have Gigapixel 8 “make it winter,” adding snow to the scene.

Gigapixel 8 also introduces new workflow enhancements. Prior versions relied on local processing using a person’s computer. However, with Gigapixel 8, users can take advantage of cloud rendering for specific tasks, including those that rely upon generative AI like Recover and Redefine.

Pricing and Availability

Topaz Labs Gigapixel 8 is available now for $99. The software works as a standalone app for macOS and Windows or as a plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom Classic. Purchases include one year of free updates, although beyond that, users will need to “subscribe” again to receive updates for $64. The application itself is a lifetime purchase.

Image credits: Topaz Labs