A sneak peek at Apple\u2019s powerful new AI photo features reveals a big shift away from the tech giant\u2019s longstanding commitment to photo realism*.<\/p>\n
Apple has previously protected the integrity* of photos taken on its phones by limiting what users could do to them. That has all changed with coming iOS free upgrades for phones, iPad and Mac devices, announced at its annual worldwide developer conference (WWDC26) in California, USA.<\/p>\n
The Courier Mail\u2019s digital editor Mark Furler, reporting from the conference, played with the beta version of the upgrade overnight Wednesday (AEST) and was quite surprised by what users could do.<\/p>\n
In the photo app itself, there were new tools to clean up and remove unwanted distractions in images.<\/p>\n
If, for example, your parents took a picture of you but there was a chair or object in the way, they could select the obstacle*, remove it and fill the space.<\/p>\n
Mr Furler tried the tool using a picture of his dogs. With the new features, the app added a leg on one dog where it was obscured and a tail on the other.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe result was surprisingly realistic,\u201d Mr Furler said. \u201c \u2026 In one, though, the extension created a foreshore that didn\u2019t look that real.\u201d<\/p>\n
The most fascinating upgrade according to Mr Furler was \u201cspatial reframing\u201d, where users could actually move a person or a group within the shot.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile some thought the demonstration shown at the keynote* event was a little creepy, using it on your own photos provides a more authentic* and pleasant experience,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He suggested the tool would be handy when an image made it look like an object was sticking out of someone\u2019s head, or when the background horizon clashed with the foreground.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it saves people having to take 50 photos to get the \u2018angle\u2019 they want, it might make for much improved family holidays, particularly for kids,\u201d Mr Furler said.<\/p>\n
But the line between what was real and what could be faked became blurred once Mr Furler dipped into the world of Image Playground, which previously did not have a photo realistic option. And the limitation was deliberate, as Apple set guardrails between real photographs and fantasy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat commitment has obviously been blown out of the water by the AI collaboration* with Google, which now allows you to pretty much create whatever fake image you want,\u201d Mr Furler said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was able to generate an almost realistic picture of myself as an F1 racing driver, change my glasses and add a wine glass to a shot.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was more concerning, though, was I could also grab a photo of anyone and turn it into a demon with horns, or an angry version of that person.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was somewhat surprised that \u2018angry\u2019 was an auto suggestion option that popped up. As a parent, the idea of schoolchildren having that option to create fakes of their friends and then post them on social media doesn\u2019t sit well.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that Apple would hopefully address such issues before releasing the final upgrade, particularly given the tech giant\u2019s renewed commitment to making device use safer for children.<\/p>\n
The Playground update also allowed him to generate realistic photos out of nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked for a photo of a boy on a beach with a dog and it generated one pretty quickly,\u201d Mr Furler said. \u201cI could then change the type of dog and even whether it was younger or skinnier.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Mr Furler interviewed Apple camera chief Jon McCormack last December, the former Queensland farm boy said he had no problem with people getting creative but he believed family photos should be real.<\/p>\n
Mr McCormack said: \u201cIf you\u2019re on vacation with your family, and it was kind of a dark and cloudy day \u2026 then all of a sudden, you\u2019re just like, \u2018Well, here\u2019s the blue sky version of it\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know that\u2019s fake. The kids know that\u2019s fake, and you look back at that in 30 years, you\u2019re just like \u2026 I thought we got rained out on that day. What\u2019s going on here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, Apple currently hasn\u2019t applied a watermark* to photos that have been generated or modified by AI. Instead, it automatically embeds a hidden SynthID watermark into images altered by Apple\u2019s generative* AI editing tools.<\/p>\n
Apple said a visible watermark could easily be cropped out by users, whereas its option would allow people and publishers to check what\u2019s real or not.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be interesting to watch what changes Apple makes to its AI functionality after feedback from users and developers, ahead of its public release in spring,\u201d Mr Furler said.<\/p>\n
The writer travelled as a guest of Apple to WWDC26 at Apple Park for outgoing CEO Tim Cook\u2019s last keynote.<\/p>\n
POLL<\/p>\n
GLOSSARY<\/p>\n
photo realism: a painting, drawing and now AI image style in which pictures look like real photographs integrity: being honest and having strong moral principles that you refuse to change obstacle: something that gets in your way by blocking your view, progress or action keynote: the main idea or central principle of a speech, program, thought or action authentic: genuine, real, true, what people say it is watermark: a method of marking content to transmit extra information, like authenticity, and which cannot be removed, showing who created or owns the file <\/p>\n
EXTRA READING<\/p>\n
Kids beware: rise of \u2018AI influencer\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n