AI Object Removal - which phone is best?

The complex stuff

We're now done with the usual samples you'd use AI erasers on and moving into truly difficult territory. These samples are deliberately made to trick and challenge AIs.

Even before we get started with the results, we'll get this out of the way - Apple's Clean Up and Google's Magic Eraser aren't at this level yet. They can't reliably edit human features and will leave a disturbing, disfigured-looking result in their wake. Maybe those would be good for a laugh here or there.

It's clear Apple and Google have tuned their AI erasers to remove distractions, not fill and generate complex patterns and shapes.

Removing sunglasses

Our first test is removing glasses from a face. We'll call it a tie - Galaxy AI and Xiaomi's AI Erase are as good as each other, Clean Up and Magic Eraser are as useless.

Removing sunglasses • Crops from the scene

Samsung Galaxy AI • Apple Clean Up • Google Magic Eraser • Xiaomi AI Erase

Removing a beanie

It's more of the same in our second test - removing a beanie from Will's head. Galaxy AI gave Will a new hairstyle, but it isn't perfect. On the opposite side, Xiaomi made him bald but left him with a single sideburn.

Apple and Google are once again terrible.

Removing a beanie • Crops from the scene

Samsung Galaxy AI • Apple Clean Up • Google Magic Eraser • Xiaomi AI Erase

Removing a phone in front of a face

The next sample proved too much for both Samsung and Xiaomi - Samsung's Galaxy AI failed to imagine a face, while Xiaomi's failed to imagine a realistic face. Apple and Google are, you guessed it, terrible again. We're not sure why Apple decided to pixelate Will's face - it kind of creates a whole other type of image, if you know what we mean.

Removing a phone in front of a face • Crops from the scene

Samsung Galaxy AI • Apple Clean Up • Google Magic Eraser • Xiaomi AI Erase

Removing a phone in front of a face 2

Samsung handled the next test better - it was the best in fact. Xiaomi isn't too far behind, but it generated the other half of Will's face a notch unrealistically. Apple and Google's inherent inability to generate human features left them out of the game again.

Removing a phone in front of a face 2 • Crops from the scene

Samsung Galaxy AI • Apple Clean Up • Google Magic Eraser • Xiaomi AI Erase

Removing a hand in front of a drawing

Galaxy AI is the only solution that achieved a good result out of the "hand in front of wall drawing" test. It's very impressive - Samsung clearly has a big model that can recognize complex shapes. Yes, the text under '2012' is jibberish, but it doesn't look out of place on the image as a whole. Kudos to Samsung here.

Apple, Google, and Xiaomi are equally hopeless.

Removing a hand in front of a drawing • Crops from the scene

Samsung Galaxy AI • Apple Clean Up • Google Magic Eraser • Xiaomi AI Erase

Removing a badge

Removing the badge from Will's t-shirt (you can buy one here) proved a hard task, and only the Galaxy AI was up for it. Yes, the 'I Sound Like A' text is bad, but most people wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

The results by the rest of the phones were unusable.

Removing a badge • Crops from the scene

Samsung Galaxy AI • Apple Clean Up • Google Magic Eraser • Xiaomi AI Erase

Removing an odd item 1

The final two images are very tough - removing an odd item in a stack of them, in this case a bottle of window cleaner amid bottles of alcohol.

The first test put the window cleaner behind the other bottles, and it's a tie between Galaxy AI and Xiaomi's AI Erase - both imagined a bottle in the background. Xiaomi's generated background blur is a notch worse than Samsung's. Google is better than Apple, but neither is good.

Removing an odd item 1 • Crops from the scene

Samsung Galaxy AI • Apple Clean Up • Google Magic Eraser • Xiaomi AI Erase

Removing an odd item 2

It's a similar result in the last test - Samsung and Xiaomi imagine new bottles to replace the window cleaner, but Samsung's is better. Magic Eraser isn't as bad this time, but it left an odd bottle cap in midair. Apple's Clean Up failed once again.

Removing an odd item 2 • Crops from the scene

Samsung Galaxy AI • Apple Clean Up • Google Magic Eraser • Xiaomi AI Erase

That means that neither Apple Clean Up, nor Google Magic Eraser managed to handle a single image in this test.