Apple is embracing the fantasy of AI photo editing

Apple used to question whether generative AI-powered editing features were worth the risk of distorting our perceptions of the world. Now it seems Apple no longer believes that photos should accurately capture reality. At WWDC 2026, the company announced a host of new AI-powered photo editing tools. They give users effortless powers of manipulating images that Apple still refers to as “photos.”

Two years ago, Apple launched Clean Up — an AI-powered object removal tool in Apple’s Photo app that’s similar to the Magic Eraser feature in Google Photos. At the time, Apple software chief Craig Federighi said that it was important for the company to “purvey accurate information, not fantasy.” The company seemed hesitant to provide more extensive AI editing tools, while Google and Samsungcharged ahead with editing suites that allow you to add almost anything to photographs by just describing it — including explosions, drug...

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