With AI technology all the rage at the moment, there is no shortage of AI-powered tools that are making our lives easier. This is evidenced, maybe most obviously, in the photo-editing world, with the likes of Luminar Neo and Lensa making a big splash when they launched.
All of this begs the understandable ethical questions of how these AI tools are trained and whether the resulting images are marked as generated by AI. It is important that we protect art that is created without AI so we can truly appreciate the skill and hard work that has gone into what has been created.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t a place in our world for AI photo-editing tools. For example, AI is amazing at restoring photos that are blurry, lit poorly, and lacking the clarity we’ve come to expect with modern camera technology. It is in this area of photo-enhancing that Remini has taken up residence.
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This is part of a regular series of articles exploring the apps that we couldn’t live without. Read them all here.
Over the years, I’ve seen lots of apps that perform individual and specific photo editing and enhancing tasks. There are existing tools that fix blurry photos and apps focused on upscaling photos. There are also those quirky and fun apps that turn your selfies into animals or Disney characters. Remini does all of the above and more. It is the Swiss army knife of photo enhancers.
Remini pitches itself as an app for both hobbyists and professionals. The ability to restore old family photos and turn your selfies into animated characters will have broad appeal. Upscaling images for large format printing and features to turn social media content into progressional-grade images will appeal to creative professionals. Hobbyists might even use it personally before deciding it’d complement their professional work as well.
Because I’m a sucker for a bit of fun, the first thing I did after opening the Remini app was to go straight into the AI filters tab. It is here that Remini makes it possible to turn yourself into alternative versions, including ‘Mini Toys’, ‘Animal Toon’, and ‘Toon’. Who doesn’t want to see what they would look like if both their parents were toys or animals?
The app is incredibly simple to use with a clear and intuitive interface. All you have to do in the ‘AI filters’ tab is pick the style you want to adopt, select a photo from your gallery, and then let Remini take it from there.
Be warned that some transformations can take 60 seconds or more but when you see the results, you won’t be left disappointed. I can tell you that my Mini Toy looked absolutely adorable! It was able to replicate my hair, face, glasses, and facial hair into a cute, cuddly alternative version of myself. Impressive.
All images that are generated with AI are watermarked. I was glad to see that it wasn’t possible to remove this marking, even with the pro version. Watermarks like this help to prevent confusion and potential misuse. I hope Remini doesn’t change its mind on this policy in the future.
After spending an inordinate amount of time in the AI filters section, I switched to the ‘Enhance’ tab. Here the app delivers some pretty impressive photo-enhancing tools straight to your fingertips. Photo retouching smooths out the skin, and background blur puts focus on the subject. I found all of the tools incredibly easy to use and surprisingly accurate.
I also liked that the ‘Face Retouch’ tool comes with a nice little disclaimer. “Face Retouch is a popular feature, but it should be used responsibly. If you find that the enhancements are affecting your self-image or confidence, please know that you can turn off Face Retouch in Settings.”
Remini has proved to be one of the best apps I’ve ever come across for enhancing photos. It is quick, efficient, and delivers great results. Alongside photo enhancing, Remini delivers a seemingly endless set of features, including animating old photos and turning your headshot into a professional profile picture.
The Pro plan gives you additional AI photos, filters, face-retouching tools, and a range of video editing tools. All of this comes at the cost of $9.99 / £9.99 per week. If that sounds a bit steep, you can access a Lite version with desktop access and video features removed. This plan costs $4.99 / £4.99. If you’re happy with limited features and intrusive ads then you can always stick with the free version.
Download the Remini app on iOS or Android. There is also a Remini Web alternative if you want to access the tools on your computer.
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paulo.n.hatton@gmail.com (Paul Hatton)
