Google Photos Expands Voice Editing to Additional Android Phones

Remember the days when swapping out a background in a photo meant hours of work on Photoshop? They are well and truly behind us now as Google continues to roll out its editing by voice feature in Google Photos.

As PetaPixel reported last month, mobile photographers need only ask Google Photos to improve their photos for them.

Now Google is expanding its Gemini-powered conversational editing tool in Google Photos beyond Pixel 10 devices to a wider range of Android phones in the United States. As of now, eligible users can access the feature by tapping “Help me edit” in the Photos editor.

Users can describe the edits they want Photos to make using either their voice or text prompts, and can watch the edits happen in real-time. This significant change to Google Photos makes photo editing a conversational endeavor, rather than a tedious, manual one.

The update allows people to describe the changes they want instead of manually adjusting sliders or selecting specific tools, like the good old days. Google says this approach makes photo editing faster and more accessible. The tool can handle broad requests such as “make it better” or “restore this old photo,” while also offering suggested edits for users to choose from.

“Advanced Gemini capabilities” power the edits, which can include tasks like removing background distractions, brightening colors, or reducing glare. After changes are applied, the app displays the original and the modified photo side by side for comparison.

The feature was first introduced on the Pixel 10 and is now available to U.S. Android users who meet certain requirements: a Google account set to English, Face Groups turned on, and location estimates enabled. Shorter or less detailed prompts may yield less precise results, but the convenience of asking Gemini to handle complex adjustments is designed to streamline the editing process.

The feature builds on Google’s recently redesigned photo editor, which added AI-powered editing suggestions and quick edits to help novice image editors improve their photos. These new editing tools let users tap or circle the parts of an image they want to change, and the AI editor will make relevant suggestions.

Since Gemini includes generative AI, users can also ask for wholesale changes to their image, including changing the sky, adding new objects, and more. As part of Google’s commitment to transparency, AI usage is labeled and, with the arrival of the Google Pixel 10 series smartphones, Google Photos now supports C2PA Content Credentials.

The Google Pixel 10 devices are the first smartphones to include C2PA Content Credentials within the native camera app.