Curse of the Pixel was certainly due for another sequel.
What you need to know
- Google Photos version 5.67 removes the Magic Eraser feature on Pixel 6 phones.
- Reverting to version 5.66 or earlier fixes the problem.
- This isn’t the first time Google has pushed a problematic update, although it’s likely this update will be pulled in the near future if it wasn’t already been removed from the Play Store.
If you’re the proud owner of a brand new Google Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro, you might want to hold off on pressing that update button for the Google Photos app. The latest version of the app, version 5.67, seems to have been erroneously pushed out by Google and, according to some users on Reddit, has completely removed the beloved Magic Eraser feature.
If you noticed the feature was missing and were worried that you might have done something wrong, don’t worry, it’s easily fixable. More than likely, this version was intended for Android phones that aren’t a Pixel 6 but appears to have been erroneously pushed by Google.
There’s no telling how many people have received the update but, if you were one of the unlucky ones who already got the app update, you can uninstall said update by heading into the Google Photos app properties, selecting the three-dot overflow menu on the top right, and selecting uninstall updates. See how to do that in the image below.
Version 5.66 of Google Photos works exactly as expected and will restore your access to Magic Eraser once reverted. This isn’t the first time Google has mistakenly pushed a bad update, as other Pixel phones recently received an Android 12 update that wasn’t meant for them.
The next Pixel feature drop should hopefully include some actual positive qualities, like the ability for your Pixel 6 to use face unlock, and looks to be coming in the near future. Here’s hoping for a smooth rollout.