Microsoft's Designer platform is finally leaving its preview stage after two years and is now available to all users. Along with 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 with the help of generative AI (they even share a similar page layout). Additionally, users can upload their own photos or images that can then be edited using Designer’s AI tools. Backgrounds can be removed, images can be altered to create a unique artistic style, and you can even remove people or objects from a photo using the generative eraser.
Everything mentioned so far is present in the mobile app, and to sweeten the deal, several new features have been added, such as prompt templates. These are predefined ideas that you can give to the AI in case you are having trouble thinking of a prompt. You have the option to change certain words if you want to make changes.
Notable Features
There are other interesting features available, such as the option to frame the image. This allows you to upload photographs and give them a frame to frame them in. Simply enter a description in the accompanying text box.
Microsoft says it plans to introduce another feature in the future called Replace Background “in preview.” [across] select markets.” As the name suggests, this completely replaces the background of still photos with a new one created by AI.
The announcement states that “Designer includes 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, the app would presumably take longer to generate images and files, but it’s unknown how long that will take. Microsoft didn’t provide any additional information.
People who want more enhancements can purchase a Copilot Pro subscription for $20 per month to receive 100 of them each day. Designer is free to download from Microsoft's website. All you have to do is scan a QR code on the page. Or, if you prefer, you can install it from Google Play or the Apple App Store.
Own updates
In addition to the app, Windows Insider users have the opportunity to try out Microsoft Photo Designer. It has similar features to the mobile version, such as the ability to remove backgrounds, but adds some additional tools like auto-crop.
Microsoft Designer is now also available in Word and PowerPoint. AI can generate content for you at any time with just one prompt. Word plans to introduce a unique feature that will allow Designer to create a banner or layout that reflects the content of a document.
There is a catch, though. According to the post, users will need to have a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription in addition to a Copilot Pro subscription. This means you'll have to pay around $27 per month or $324 per year to access the service. At that price, it seems like the Word integration is geared more toward professionals than the average person.
We reached out to Microsoft for clarification on pricing and also asked a couple of questions. We'll update this story if we hear back. Until then, check out TechRadar's list of the best AI photo editors for 2024.
