I test smartphones for a living — and the best new feature of the year is now on every phone

Features
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Once you use it, you can't go back to anything else

Best Phones 2025.
(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

It's not a surprise that AI features continued to be a big focus amongst phone makers in 2025. Even though Apple Intelligence was practically a no-show, new Galaxy AI and Google AI features added even more utility to their respective flagship models. However, the best smartphone feature I’ve tested all year is actually available on just about every phone.

I’m referring to Ask Photos, which was an exclusive feature to Pixel 10 phones — but eventually rolled out as part of a standard feature with the Google Photos app. That means whether you're team Android or team iPhone, you have access to this incredibly helpful feature. Really, it showcases the true power of what artificial intelligence can do by saving me time and frustration. Here’s why.

Cleaner background for product shots

Ask Photos screen shots.

(Image credit: Future)

I test a bunch of different gadgets on Tom’s Guide, like the best robotic litter boxes, so I’m constantly taking photos of them. One of the challenges I have is that sometimes my home’s messy, but Ask Photos lets me change the backgrounds of my photos to make them look way more professional.

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Ask Photos photo samples.
(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

Take the Petlibro Smart Granary Feeder I captured above in my kitchen. I can point out several things that make it unpleasant, like the furniture to the left, the crooked baseboard heater cover, and the cable wire snaking to the side. With Ask Photos in Google Photos, I can simply put it on a totally different background.

I gave it the prompt to put it in a cleaner kitchen setting, and as you can see from the before and after shots above, it’s now way more pleasant looking. While replacing backgrounds isn’t new, it’s really about how AI is delivering contextual results — as opposed to the old way of me manually doing it.

I can dress appropriately

Ask Photos screen shots.

(Image credit: Future)

Swapping backgrounds is easy. What’s hard is changing a small portion of the shot to something else, but Ask Photos has no trouble at all doing exactly this. If you look at the selfie I captured with my friend Eric Landskroner over at News 12 NJ during a recent tech check segment we recorded, I didn’t have time to throw on a blazer.

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Ask Photos photo samples.
(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

Using Ask Photos on my Galaxy Z Flip 7, though, I started off by selecting myself in the photo so that it knows to change my shirt into a blazer — and not Eric. The end result looks pretty convincing in my opinion, as it also adds the shoulder pads to better match the way I’m folding the phone.

Doing this manually is almost impossible, not to mention time consuming. With one quick prompt, it delivered a realistic photo worthy of me sharing on social.

No fuss people remover

Ask Photos screen shots.

(Image credit: Future)

AI-assisted editing tools like Google’s Magic Eraser and Apple’s Clean Up are great at removing unwanted subjects in photos, which then use generative AI to mask those affected areas as realistically as possible. Ask Photos streamlines this process way more than those other tools because I just type a prompt and that’s it, instead of constantly using a selection tool to choose what I want taken out.

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Ask Photos photo samples.
(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

You can see from the before and after photos, Ask Photos perfectly identifies all the people in the frame and deletes them. What I do like is that I’m given a couple of different options to choose from, because each option may have some odd quirks to them. Most people will probably overlook it, but I can tell when AI’s being used.

Bottom Line

Google Pixel 10 Pro hands-on.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

I can go on and on with other examples of why Ask Photos is my favorite smartphone feature. But at the end of the day, it’s a tool that works effectively and saves me time. Honestly, I can’t think of how else Google could improve this aside from copying and transforming it into a video editing feature. Now that would be a big challenge, so I’m eager to see what’s in store for 2026.

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John Velasco
John Velasco
Senior Channel Editor for Phones

John’s a senior editor covering phones for Tom’s Guide. He’s no stranger in this area having covered mobile phones and gadgets since 2008 when he started his career. On top of his editor duties, he’s a seasoned videographer being in front and behind the camera producing YouTube videos. Previously, he held editor roles with PhoneArena, Android Authority, Digital Trends, and SPY. Outside of tech, he enjoys producing mini documentaries and fun social clips for small businesses, enjoying the beach life at the Jersey Shore, and recently becoming a first time homeowner.

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