Windows 11 Photos app gets sick new AI feature – macOS users may get envious

Get rid of unwanted objects in seconds.
By Kimberly Gedeon  on 
Two dogs on Windows 11 Photos app
The Windows 11 Photos app is getting a new gen-AI feature. Credit: Microsoft

Windows 11 Photos has gotten a lot of love from Microsoft lately. Last fall, the Redmond-based tech giant introduced new AI-based features for the picture-focused app, including background blur and photo-identifying search.

On Wednesday, however, Microsoft announced a new perk for the Windows 11 Photos app that will likely elicit envy from macOS and Chromebook users.

Windows 11 Photos app gets an object eraser

We’ve all been there. We look back at our photos with nostalgic pleasure, but suddenly, we notice an intrusive object that ruins the photo. 

A screenshot of the Windows 11 Photos app
If an unsightly object appears in a photo of your pet, you can remove it in seconds. Credit: Microsoft

For example, let’s you’re standing in front of a stunning mural in a photo, but some distracting bits and bobs are strewn across the ground. To get rid of them, you’d likely have to rely on some third-party photo-editing app.

Not anymore.

The Windows 11 Photos app now lets users remove unwanted objects and other flaws from their images, thanks to the new Generative Erase feature. You can simply select the undesirable imperfection and eliminate it from the picture.

The Windows 11 Photos app isn’t the only creativity-based, pre-installed app getting an upgrade. Clipchamp is getting a new AI-enhanced feature, too. The video-editing app now has a Silence Removal tool that lets you remove awkward, unwanted silences on audio tracks.

Generative Erase will be coming to Windows 11 soon (though it's worth noting it already rolled out to the Windows Insider Program last Thursday). Clipchamp's Silence Removal feature is rolling out to consumers with the latest Windows 11 update today.

Topics Windows

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Kimberly Gedeon
East Coast Tech Editor

Kimberly Gedeon is a tech explorer who enjoys doing deep dives into the most popular gadgets, from the latest iPhones to the most immersive VR headsets. She's drawn to strange, avant-garde, bizarre tech, whether it's a 3D laptop, a gaming rig that can transform into a briefcase, or smart glasses that can capture video. Her journalism career kicked off about a decade ago at MadameNoire where she covered tech and business before landing as a tech editor at Laptop Mag in 2020.


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