I tested iOS 27's new AI photo editing tools as a skeptic - and the results surprised me - ZDNET

Our gifting experts are obsessively searching for holiday gifts that are unique, thoughtful and suitable for any budget. The new developer beta of iOS 27 offers three AI-powered skills to tweak and enhance your photos. Are they worth using? Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. AI has increasingly seeped into popular photo editors, including Apple’s Photos app. At WWDC on Monday, Apple unveiled several AI-powered updates for the app that aim to help you edit, refine, and alter your photos. The skills are accessible in the first iOS 27 developer app, now available for anyone with a supported iPhone and a developer account. Also: The biggest announcements at Apple WWDC 2026 First up are improvements to the Clean Up tool. Introduced with iOS 18.1, Clean Up tries to cleanly remove unwanted people and objects from your photos, replacing the empty space with the surrounding area. In the past, Clean Up was a bit hit-or-miss. But with iOS 27, the tool is supposed to work more effectively and accurately. Next up is a new tool called Extend. With this one, you can expand a photo to surround the subject with more space. AI automatically fills in the extended area based on the