A new report reveals a powerful upcoming Google Photos feature destined exclusively for Google’s anticipated Pixel 8 smartphones. Picked up by the unofficial Google News Telegram group, the information comes in the form of a purportedly leaked video, posted by a mystery Twitter user known as “EZ.”
The video demonstrates a new Audio Magic Eraser feature, which identifies the sounds in a recorded video clip and automatically “erases” any distracting background noises while keeping the main soundtrack intact.
In the example given, a woman is seen skateboarding over a footbridge, while children cheer and whoop in the background. Importantly, the rumbling of her wheels is clearly audible throughout. A finger then taps a new Audio Magic Eraser button, which causes the smartphone to display the message “Identifying sounds” before offering a selection of different kinds of audio that can be erased from the soundtrack.
Options for “Noise” and “People” and “Music” are visible, although we don’t get to see the whole selection, so there may be more. Finally, a slider is available to adjust the strength of the effect.
In the video, Noise is selected and the rumbling sound of the wheels is automatically effectively removed, leaving other sounds, including the appreciative sounds of the children, intact.
It remains to be seen how effective the feature will be in day-to-day use, but the demo certainly seems impressive. I can see practical uses for the other options too, such as removing the speech of someone who inadvertently talks over your recording or deleting commercial music that might otherwise cause online platforms to reject your video on copyright grounds.
While the origin of the video hasn’t been verified, it does bear all the hallmarks of an official Google promo. It also briefly displays a Pixel 8 Pro handset at the end of the sequence in the new “Sky” blue color.
Google has a track record of announcing exclusive camera features when launching new flagship smartphones. For example, the Pixel 7 range received the Photo Unblur feature last year, showcasing the power of Google’s Tensor G2 chip. This year’s Pixel 8 range is tipped to feature a new Tensor G3 chip when it arrives later this October, so Audio Magic Eraser would be an ideal candidate to demonstrate the power of the new smartphones.
This may also mean that the feature never arrives on lesser Pixels, but only time will tell.
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