Google is preparing a new feature that will enhance the capabilities of millions of older Pixel phones

Google smartphones like the Pixel 6 could soon receive some “exclusive” features from the Pixel 9 series, according to a new report.

Update September 14: The new features have been confirmed to work on older Pixels. This story was originally published on September 13. Updates below.

Google’s latest Pixel 9 series smartphones have launched with new camera features and two exclusive updates to the AI-powered Google Photos Magic Editor feature: “Reimagine” and “Auto Frame”.

According to the report from Android PowerGoogle is now preparing to bring Reimagine and Auto Frame features to the Pixel 6, Pixel 7, and Pixel 8 series smartphones. These features are not yet available to users, but everything is ready for Google to flip the switch to activate them.

Evidence of this update was found by app expert Assemble Debug, who discovered references to Reimagine and Auto Frame in a new version of the Google Photos app designed specifically for older Pixel devices. According to the tipster, Google maintains three versions of the Google Photos app for Android devices: one just for the Pixel 9 series, another for Pixel devices released since 2021, and a third for all other Android devices. This second version of Google Photos for the latest Pixel devices now includes code for new features that were initially only found in the Pixel 9 version. The code is not present in the non-Pixel version of the app, suggesting that Google intends to limit these features to Pixel phones for now.

However, Google has previously made Pixel-exclusive features available to the wider Android community. Magic Editor launched as an exclusive for the Pixel 8 series and is now available to all Google Photos users, including iOS. It’s safe to assume the same could eventually happen with Reimagine and Auto Frame. This is possible because most of Magic Editor’s processing happens in the cloud, meaning you don’t need a powerful device to use it.

What are Reimagine and Auto Frame?

If you haven’t tried Reimagine or Auto Frame yet, here’s what they offer.

Reimagine lets you change any part of a photo by circling it and typing a description of what you want into the box. Magic Editor then uses generative AI to redraw the circled part of the image to match the description. This can be a lot of fun, although the potential for creating misleading images with just a few taps is a concern. Reimagine makes it trivially easy.

Auto Frame uses generative AI in a less fun but arguably more useful way, automatically cropping, straightening, and straightening an existing photo to better highlight the subject. Sometimes it will extend the edges of the photo and automatically generate new pixels to fill in the gaps. It’s fully automatic, so you can’t control the re-cropping, but you do get a selection of alternative results to choose from. If you don’t like any of the results, you can ask it to try again and generate a new set.

Sometimes you have the option to turn a vertical photo into a horizontal one or vice versa. It’s a shame that Magic Editor doesn’t let you choose a specific format for your photos, because I think that would be a really useful feature.

September 14 Update: Reimagine and Auto Frame are enabled and working on older Pixel phone models.

There are numerous reports of users who have managed to enable Reimagine and Auto Frame on smartphones other than the Pixel 9 series. These features are not yet available to regular users, but a few people with “rooted” devices have managed to enable them by fiddling with hidden software flags. These reports confirm that these two features can indeed work on older Pixel smartphones. Forcing Reimagine and Auto Frame to work on non-Pixel devices is a different matter entirely and is unlikely to work.

Unless you’re using a Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, or Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Reimagine and Auto Frame require at least version 6.99 of the Google Photos app.

We’ll have to wait and see when (or if) Google officially enables these features on older Pixel models, but we already know it’s definitely possible.

Follow @paul_monckton on Instagram.

ForbesSamsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: Design leak with specs that beat iPhone 16 ProBy Paul MoncktonForbesGoogle Unveils Ask Photos Waitlist and Much-Needed Google Photos UpdateBy Paul Monckton