Microsoft’s Designer platform is finally leaving its preview stage after two years, becoming widely available to all users. Alongside the expansion, the company is also launching an official app for Android and iOS devices.
If you’re not familiar with it, Designer is basically Microsoft’s version of Adobe Express. It’s a website where you can create art, greeting cards, wallpapers, and more through the help of generative AI (they even share a similar page layout). Additionally, users are able to upload their own photographs or images which can then be edited using Designer’s AI tools. Backgrounds can be removed, pictures can be altered into a unique art style, plus you can take out people or objects in a photo via the generative eraser.
Everything listed so far is present on the mobile app, and to sweeten the deal, several new features have been added such as prompt templates. These are pre-made ideas that you can give to the AI in case you’re having a hard time coming up with a prompt. You do have the option to swap out certain words if you want to make changes.
Notable features
There are several other notable features available like Frame Image. This lets you upload photographs and give them a frame to wrap around the picture. You just have to enter a descriptive prompt into the accompanying text box.
Microsoft states it has plans to introduce another feature down the line called Replace Background “in preview [across] select markets.” As the name suggests, this completely replaces the background of still photos with a new one made by AI.
The announcement states “Designer comes with 15 free daily boosts” that you can use to quickly create or edit AI content. However, in our experience, we actually received 32 boosts. Without these tokens, it would presumably take the app longer to generate images and files, but how long it'll take is unknown. Microsoft didn’t provide any extra information.
People who want more boosts can purchase a Copilot Pro subscription for $20 a month to receive 100 of them every day. Designer is free to download from Microsoft’s website. All you need to do is scan a QR code on the page. Or if you prefer, you can install it from either the Google Play or Apple App Store.
First-party updates
In addition to the app, users in the Windows Insider program have the opportunity to try out Designer in Microsoft Photos. It has similar features to the mobile version, like the ability to remove backgrounds, but adds a few extra tools like auto-crop.
Microsoft Designer is also now available in Word and PowerPoint. The AI can generate content for you at any time with a single prompt. Word is scheduled to receive an exclusive feature where Designer can create a banner or design, mirroring the content in a document.
There is a catch, however. According to the post, users will need to have a subscription to either Microsoft 365 Personal or Family on top of having a Copilot Pro subscription. This means you’ll have to pay about $27 a month or $324 a year to have access to the service. At that price, it seems the Word integration is meant more for professionals than the average person.
We reached out to Microsoft for clarification on the price and asked a couple of questions too. This story will be updated if we hear back. Until then, check out TechRadar's list of the best AI photo editors for 2024.
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