OnePlus AI Object Eraser: How to Use and How it Works

OnePlus has been the quiet kid in the classroom when it comes to practical AI tools for smartphones, but that’s about to change. In its latest community announcement, OnePlus has unveiled the first iteration of its proprietary large language model – AI Eraser. While we’ve had Samsung and Google’s versions for years, OnePlus is better late than never. The new AI Eraser feature has already been distributed to OnePlus 12 users around the world. Let’s dive in and find out more about it.

OnePlus AI: Beginning of a New Era

With the announcement of the AI Object Eraser tool, OnePlus marks the grand opening of OnePlus AI. Based on a proprietary large language model (LLM), OnePlus plans to dive deeper into generative AI and introduce more user-centric features on its devices. Thanks to u/milkyteapls’ post on Reddit, we can expect OnePlus to introduce even more AI features globally, including an AI Summarizer, an Article Summarizer, and Breeno Touch – a feature that can scan screen content and offer relevant services. These features are already rolling out to OnePlus 11 and OnePlus 12 users in China.

A dedicated large language model will allow OnePlus to keep control in their hands, enabling more precise outputs to be processed onthe device. However, this proprietary LLM is basically based on parent company’s AI model— Oppo AI, which is powered by AndesGPT and is already available to users in China. All in all, it’s a step in the right direction.

Compatible Devices to Enjoy AI Eraser Now

OnePlus has published a list of compatible devices. Starting this month (April 2024), an over-the-air update will be rolled out gradually for OnePlus 12, OnePlus 12R, OnePlus Open, OnePlus 11 and OnePlus Nord CE4 users. The update for OnePlus 12 users has been available since yesterday. There is no information on whether older devices will receive this feature, so we hope OnePlus will clarify this.

How to Use OnePlus AI Eraser

Enough said, let’s focus on the present aspect of OnePlus AI. If you have a OnePlus 12, here is how you can get the AI Eraser feature on your device.

1. Open your device’s Settings.
2. Scroll down and enter About device.
3. Select the OxygenOS banner up top. Ensure you are connected to the internet as the phone searches for new updates. A 171.68MB update possessing the version number CPH2573_12.0.0.608(EX01) should be available to download.
4. Click on Install Now at the bottom and proceed with the instructions.
   
5. After updating your phone, enter the Photos app on your device and open the picture of your choice. Proceed by accepting the new terms and conditions of the Photos app.
6. Click on the Edit icon from the bottom.
7. A new tool, AI Eraser should show up there. Again, you must accept the terms and conditions to use this feature.

Once you are in, you will be greeted by two brand-new modes — Smart lasso and Paint over. In simple terms, Smart lasso allows you to draw around the unwanted object to be removed, whereas, with Paint over, you will have to scribble over it. Smart lasso is excellent for discrete objects, as it’s easy to circle them. On the other hand, Paint over is best for challenging scenarios, as it lets you change the width of the brush and scribble over unwanted objects precisely. Also, the object removal is followed by a nice animation.

OnePlus recommends using photos over 100KB, as low-resolution photos cannot be edited as expected due to lacking details. Furthermore, as per a OnePlus Community member, the AI Eraser tool is rate-limited, meaning it can only be used a certain number of times a day. OnePlus hasn’t released any clarifications as of now, but we hope it’s false, as it would be a bummer otherwise.

In addition, the AI Eraser Tool requires an active Internet connection in order to function. This can be concluded from the numerous errors we were confronted with due to a weak internet connection when we used the function on our OnePlus 12. Nevertheless, the function did not work in several cases due to a poor internet connection, even though the device had a stable 5G connection.

The results are as expected for an AI-based object eraser. While AI Eraser struggles to retain finer details (which is the case with most AI-based object erasers), it shines at object removal. It still needs to better understand the shadows and reflections it leaves behind, but we can forgive OnePlus for that since this is the first iteration, and hope they continue to optimize the proprietary LLM. The AI Eraser should perform better on well-lit images with objects with defined boundaries. Here are a few before and after images for you to look at and judge.

Although processing takes a few instances longer than expected, object recognition is sometimes a hit. Funnily enough, it has been reported that the AI Eraser tool fills in the gaps left behind with random things that have no relation. For example, in the picture below, AI Eraser has replaced the unwanted book with a plant that appeared out of nowhere. This will hopefully disappear as the AI model studies more scenes.

Wrapping Up

With the introduction of OnePlus AI, the long wait for AI features on OnePlus devices has finally come to an end. With AI Eraser, a must-have tool for photo editing these days, OnePlus is moving in the right direction. If we overlook a few things, the AI Eraser tool proves to be a promising and reliable option for users. If you’ve seen the AI Eraser in action, let us know what you think!