iOS 18.1 beta 3: Apple releases “Clean Up” image cleaner

With the third beta of iOS 18.1, Apple has now expanded its artificial intelligence called Apple Background to include a “Clean Up” function for photos. This makes it possible to remove unwanted objects and people from photos by tapping and circling them. The AI ​​should ensure that the newly added background is created in such a way that its removal is not even noticeable.

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“Clean Up” is the first image-generating function of Apple Intelligence that Apple has activated. Until now, only text-generating functions such as proofreading and correcting text could be tried. However, testers will still have to wait for personalized emojis (Zenmojis) and image generation called Image Wand.

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Image editing at your fingertips

In our first attempts, the “clean up” works surprisingly easily and well. As expected, the result is certainly particularly successful, especially with simple backgrounds. But removing the Heise company sign on the lawn in front of the headquarters or the lantern in front of the publishing building also worked surprisingly well, although the background to be created was of a more demanding nature.

The first thing to do after installing Beta 3 is to download the AI ​​model into the Photos app. From now on it is possible to select the new “Clean Up” tool in Edit mode, represented by an eraser. The AI ​​then suggests objects that can be removed and gives them a glossy shine. The user can also select other objects by tapping or circling them.

Where “cleanliness” reaches its limits

If you try to delete someone who is clearly in the foreground, that person’s face will be pixelated. In several cases, we were able to reach its limits when trying out the “clean up”. For example, when one person in the group was cut out, it happened that the arm of the person next to it suddenly became twice as thick. In some cases, the calculated background is absolutely wrong and can be immediately recognized as AI-generated. However, the quality may improve during the beta.

Anyone who takes photos with short video snippets called Live Photos will have to make a decision: as soon as the clean-up is used, the video will be deactivated. Conversely, the AI ​​editing disappears when the video is restored. All steps of “clean up” can also be reversed. When a photo is modified, a note is added to the image’s meta information that the image was edited with AI.

More AI features

With the third beta, the AI-generated summary of push notifications has also been expanded to all apps. In the first beta, users were only able to see summaries of Mail and Messages, which were aimed at bringing more order to the overview.

Apple Intelligence is expected to launch alongside iOS 18.1 in October. Since Apple says it still has to clear regulatory issues, Apple Intelligence will likely not be available in the EU at launch. At least for now, in beta phase, it cannot be officially tested in the EU. However, unlocking them is now easy anyway. Apart from the US English language setting, you only need to use a US App Store account.

(MKI)