Google hyped the Pixel 6's Magic Eraser when it first launched the phones last year, making it sound like it was an unprecedented technology. However, Samsung debuted a similar Object Eraser option with the Galaxy S21 series in early 2021, which it eventually rolled out to other Galaxy phones too. With the S22 series, the company has further improved the feature by adding support for removing reflections and shadows. It was presumed that these enhancements would remain exclusive to the Korean giant's latest flagship phones for a while before being rolled out to older Galaxy devices as a part of the One UI 4.1 update. Now, it looks like Samsung is already rolling out a Photo Editor update to bring the option to its existing devices, separate from a system update.

The options to remove shadows and reflections are a part of Labs in Samsung Gallery, meaning they are currently in beta. Nonetheless, based on our testing, it appears that you can activate and use them on a wide range of mid-range and flagship Galaxy devices running One UI 4, including the Galaxy S10, Galaxy A52, and Note10 series. The feature could possibly also be available on phones still on One UI 3.1.

To try out the tools on your phone, update the Photo Editor app from the Galaxy Store and then follow the steps below. In case the options do not show up on your Galaxy phone even after installing the update, ensure that the Object Eraser plugin is also updated.

  1. Launch Samsung Gallery and open a picture from which you want to remove the reflections or shadows.
  2. Bring up the editing tools by tapping the pencil icon.
  3. Tap the 3-dot menu button in the bottom-right corner.
  4. Select Labs and ensure the toggles for Shadow eraser and Reflection eraser are enabled.
  5. Head back to the editor, tap the 3-dot menu button again, and now select Object eraser.
  6. You'll now see the Erase shadows and Erase reflections tools.
  7. Select the appropriate option depending on what you want to remove from the photo. The photo will be analyzed and detected shadows/reflections will be removed.

The feature was a bit of a hit-or-miss in my testing on an Exynos 2100-powered Galaxy S21+, though your mileage will vary depending on the photo. Since the new Object Eraser enhancements require a fairly powerful NPU to work, it might not be available on low-end Galaxy devices.