Google trademarks name for next-gen smartphone camera generative AI

Next-gen AI for smartphone cameras is tipped to get powerful enough to do things such as add new backgrounds to photographs, ideally with the lighting and extra, auto-generated details to match. Now, Google is rumored to have a name for its take on this upcoming technology.

The Mountain View has filed the term RealFill with the US Patents and Trademarks Office (USPTO). The IP refers to the creation of "generative models" and a way of "using artificial intelligence (AI) for inpainting images".

Those definitions invite speculation that RealFill can act as an artificial restoration expert for photos with blurry, missing or damaged areas, filling these patches with content that, while possibly original, should be closest to what had been or should have been part of the image in the first place.

Accordingly, it could step in to address the errors made by object-erasing features such as Magic Eraser might (and do) make.

However, RealFill is also described as "non-downloadable", thereby indicating that it, like Magic Editor, will only be available on the cloud, with all the potential drawbacks (which currently include its being slow, inaccurate and ineffective) implied by that restriction. In addition, there are already some concerns over its potential ethical issues regarding photo-faking and authenticity.

Nevertheless, RealFill could also make an intriguing selling point for a new smartphone one day. Then again, as its trademarking application has been submitted on April 10, 2024, it is less than likely to feature on the upcoming Pixel 8a or 9 series soon.