The Windows 11 Photos app is testing a pair of key AI-powered features, persevering with a shocking and welcome renaissance in Microsoft’s multimedia apps.
Microsoft mentioned Thursday that the Photos app is including background blur, the “portrait mode” that’s turn into frequent smartphones. Even higher, the OneDrive app now has smarter search capabilities for images, so that you just’ll have the ability to search by the content material of the image, similar to a seashore scene or “snow.”
We criticized Microsoft earlier this yr for the actual fact the previous Photos app was higher than the new one. And in some sense, it’s: in Photos Legacy, you’ll be able to seek for content material, such because the beforehand talked about seashore scenes. Provided that you just’ve related Photos to OneDrive (which you are able to do within the drop-down menu on the left-hand rail) now you can use the common Photos app as a entrance door to OneDrive photograph searches.
We ought to level out, too, that in May Microsoft re-introduced Spot Fix to Photos, which lets you spotlight a small space and use AI to filter out any anomalies. (Think specks of mud on a laptop computer.)
Microsoft
Background blur, although, hints at one other function we just lately lobbied for: Paint3D’s Magic Select, which has now been added to Paint. Really, Background Blur and Magic Select carry out the identical job. They determine and separate the foreground topic from the background. Magic Select cuts it away; Background Blur merely applies an AI blur filter to the background.
There’s one drawback: the portrait mode/background blur function that Microsoft has proven us earlier than was fairly poor. That got here courtesy of the Surface Duo 2, the dual-screen smartphone that apparently Microsoft has deserted. In our photograph of a statue, the Duo utilized the background blur function on solely a part of the scene. We’ll need to see if Photos is any higher. If nothing else, Background Blur is adjustable.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Microsoft is offering these new features within the Canary and Dev Channels of Microsoft Photos, so there’s no assure that you just’ll finally see it. There’s a superb likelihood, although, and it’s nice to see Photos acquire some sudden new enhancements. Can Magic Select be subsequent?
Author: Mark Hachman, Senior Editor
As PCWorld’s senior editor, Mark focuses on Microsoft information and chip know-how, amongst different beats. He has previously written for PCMag, BYTE, Slashdot, eWEEK, and ReadWrite.
…. to be continued
Read the Original Article
Copyright for syndicated content material belongs to the linked Source : PCWorld – https://www.pcworld.com/article/2069425/microsoft-photos-renaissance-continues-with-new-ai-features.html