iPhone's Clean Up has stood as a shining example of the worst AI object remover on a smartphone among its competitors. However, that is not the case anymore with the new and improved Clean Up tool introduced in iOS 27, which accurately detects the areas you want to remove and erases the selected content while intelligently recreating the background behind it. So, if you want to give it a shot too, then here's a guide on how to use the Clean Up tool in the Photos app on iPhone.
What's New with Clean Up in Photos App?
With iOS 27, Apple introduced a new Clean Up tool powered by Apple's foundation model and Google Gemini integration, which can reconstruct backgrounds and remove objects using generative AI. It is a big leap over the older version, which was only good enough to fix small errors.
The biggest addition is the choice of three Clean Up modes:
- Auto: Intelligently picks a mode depending on the image itself and the selected area for removal.
- Fast: Prioritises speed for quick touch-ups and performs all the processing on device.
- High Quality: It focuses on more detailed reconstruction. However, it sends data to Apple's Private Cloud Compute for processing for accurate results.
This allows users to pick the preferred options depending on the complexity of the item they want to remove.
How to Use Clean Up Tool on iPhone
The steps to access the Clean Up tool in the Photos app are similar to how you'd use the Extend tool and Reframe tool in iOS 27. But if you haven't tried the feature yet, here's how you use it.
- Launch the Photos app on your iPhone and open the photo you want to clean up.
- Tap on the settings icon at the bottom and then select Tools.
- Tap on Clean Up and select your preferred removal mode from the drop-down menu at the top.
- You can pick between: Fast for quick edits, High Quality for complex objects, or Auto to let the app decide.
- Now, draw around the area you want to remove with your finger and tap on Clean Up.
- Once the edit is processed, you can tap on the checkmark icon at the top right.
- Now tap on Done to apply the changes and save the images to your gallery.
How Is iOS 27 Clean up Tool Different from iOS 26?
The original version of Clean Up worked reasonably well on simple backgrounds but struggled when the surrounding area had texture or detail, often leaving behind a blurry or smudged result. In comparison, the new Clean Up tool in iOS 27 is a big improvement. I tested it out with over a dozen photos on my iPhone Air after installing the iOS 27 developer beta.
Even at this early stage, it is able to closely recreate faces that are hidden behind an opaque object, remove things with complicated backgrounds and produce significantly cleaner results.
But it is worth noting that to get such clean removals, you need to use the High Quality option in the Clean Up tool, which sends the image to Apple's Private Cloud Compute for processing. It takes a bit longer, but the outcome is well worth the wait.
Which iPhones Support Clean Up Tool in Photos App?
The Clean Up tools are part of the Apple Intelligence feature set and available to all Apple Intelligence-supported devices. However, the newer version with the High Quality mode is coming to iOS 27-eligible iPhones. So, here's a rundown of all the models getting the Clean Up feature in the Photos app.
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 16
- iPhone 16 Plus
- iPhone 16 Pro
- iPhone 16 Pro Max
- iPhone 16e
- iPhone 17
- iPhone 17 Pro
- iPhone 17 Pro Max
- iPhone 17e
- iPhone Air
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Can I restore the original photo after using Clean Up on my iPhone?
Yes. Edits in Photos are non-destructive. It keeps the original as a copy, and Revert to Original undoes the AI's work entirely. To revert, open the edited photo, tap on Edit, and select Revert.
Q. Does iPhone's Clean Up tool work offline?
Fast mode runs entirely on the iPhone and does not require an internet connection. High Quality mode uses Apple's cloud models and requires a connection to process. If Auto is selected and the device is offline, the app will default to Fast mode automatically.
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