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How Android Photo Reimagine can take your images to a whole other level
It’s me re-imagined at a Colts game and on the Titanic.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
Upon receiving my new Pixel 9 Pro, there was a particular feature I was excited to try out. Called Photo Reimagine, the feature uses AI to alter your photos in ways you have to see to believe.
Before we go hands-on with this extremely cool tool, I want to address something. Photo Reimagine could be used for less-than-ethical purposes. For example, you could take a selfie, use the Reimagine tool to place yourself somewhere you’ve never been and use it for some devious objective. Fortunately, Google anticipated this — its tool won’t allow for just any reimagining. For example, I asked the app to reimagine me in the Oval Office. No dice. White House? Nope. Pentagon? Are you kidding me?
Also: I upgraded to the Google Pixel 9 Pro, and its most impressive feature was not the software
Also, the reimagine tool doesn’t always create images that are especially logical or realistic. For example, I asked the app to reimagine me in space. One photo was laughable and the others were actually quite realistic. I then asked it to reimagine me at the San Diego Zoo and the results were a bit strange. In other words, your mileage may vary. Even so, this new feature is scary good at what it does and your imagination is your only limitation to what you can do with it. However, if you want a selfie of you at the White House — book a trip.
How do you use this fancy new tool? Let me show you.
How to use the Android Photo Reimagine
What you’ll need: To use the Photo Reimagine tool you’ll need a Pixel 9 phone, as the feature is not available on previous iterations of the device. That’s it. Let’s get to the images.
Open the camera app and take a photo of yourself or someone else. Make sure to frame the image in such a way that there’s enough background to be removed.
Also: The best Android phones you can buy: Expert tested
Just above the Cancel button, there’s a small icon that looks like a photo with a star in the upper right corner. Tap that and then, when prompted, tap “Back up,” so you’ll retain a copy of the original photo. The Magic Editor tool will not continue unless you make a backup.
Framed a photo so I can reimagine it.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
In the resulting window, outline the portion of the image you want to save. In my case, it was me. Once you’ve done that, tap Reimagine.
You don’t have to be perfect but try to be as close as possible.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
A Gemini prompt will appear, where you type your query in English and tap the right-pointing arrow. The Reimagine tool will go to work and, after a few seconds, will show you a few options to select from.
Get as specific as possible, otherwise your results might not be as expected.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
If you find an image that you like, tap “Save copy” and the app will save the selected photo. Once you’ve done that, you can then share the photo as needed.
Also: I replaced my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra with the Pixel 9 Pro XL for a month – and can’t go back
Yes, the Reimagine feature is impressive. I found some of the images it produced to be frighteningly realistic (whereas some were rather strange or even disturbing). If you’re the proud owner of a Pixel 9 phone, I highly recommend giving this feature a try.
