Adobe adds generative AI editing tools to its Indigo iPhone camera app

In short: Adobe has updated its experimental Indigo iPhone camera app with a new “AI Playground” that adds generative AI photo editing tools.

What happened

Adobe launched Project Indigo last year as a camera app aimed at a more “natural” look for iPhone photos, similar to what people expect from an SLR camera (a traditional camera with interchangeable lenses). Now, in version 1.1, Adobe is adding a set of generative AI features, which can create or change parts of an image based on instructions.

Adobe calls the new tools “AI Playground” and says it is an experiment. There is an opt-out button, so people can keep using the app without the new AI tools.

The AI Playground has four sections: Styles, Object Editing, Photo Guidance, and Custom Edit. Adobe says these features use prompts that the team has written in advance (like prewritten instructions), and you can tap again to get a slightly different result if you do not like the first one.

Some examples include Styles, which applies AI-made looks to photos, such as making an image look more like an illustration or changing lighting. The update also includes object removal, which is meant to delete unwanted items from a photo.

Adobe says the change does not rely on its own Firefly AI models. It is also testing free access with no sign-in for a small percentage of Indigo users over the next few weeks. Adobe fellow Marc Levoy said that if the feature proves popular, Adobe will eventually offer a paid version.

Why it matters

More camera apps are blurring the line between taking a photo and generating a new version of it (like using a smart eraser and filters that can rebuild parts of the picture). Adobe’s opt-out and limited rollout suggest it is testing how comfortable people are with these changes before making them a bigger part of the app.

Source: The Verge AI