Buzz
With just a few selfie snaps, AI effortlessly crafts portrait photos that rival those taken by human photographers.
Miaoya, or Marvelous Duck, stands out as one of the most popular artificial intelligence (AI) applications on Tencent's WeChat super social app in China today.
Users can upload a facial photo along with a minimum of 20 recently taken images. The app then employs AI to transform them into a stylish portrait set, including standard ID photos and professional portraits.
To obtain these portraits, users only need to spend 9.9 Chinese Yuan, equivalent to 1.4 USD. Miaoya's developer, the relatively unknown Weixu Internet Technology, gained fame since its launch on July 17. Some users willingly waited over 24 hours for their portraits as Miaoya's server experienced overload.
Zhang Yichang, residing in Jiangxi province, shared her experience using Miaoya to upload 20 photos of herself. She expressed her satisfaction with Miaoya's output.
“I believe the outcome closely resembles the photos captured by the studio,” she stated.
Not only Miaoya, but also 45ai, another simple AI image processing app, garnered immense traction after its debut last week in China. One of the image styles provided by this app is based on Barbie, the fictional character described in the popular fantasy comedy film of the same name that was recently released.
In a post on China's social e-commerce platform Xiaohongshu on July 25th, 45ai mentioned facing some technical issues due to excessively high traffic and provided solutions for users.
AI image processing apps create a new global craze
Not limited to China, other AI-generated image processing apps are also causing a stir globally, such as the app named Remini, which can transform smartphone selfie photos into professional portraits.
This app even dethroned Meta's Threads app and rose to the number one spot in the U.S. on Apple's App Store rankings. Launched in 2019, Remini has the ability to enhance the clarity of images, making blurry images clearer. However, in 2022, the app added additional AI-generated application features. While Remini is free to download, it also requires users to register for access to all features.
Embarking on a creative journey, users start by uploading 8 to 12 of their own photos and selecting their gender. Subsequently, they choose a 'template image' to emulate styles and layouts, ranging from 'casual' and 'fashionable' to 'travel' and 'office chic'.
The 'office chic' category transforms models into professional-looking individuals in office attire, producing professional portrait shots. Following that, a swipe feature allows Remini users to curate their favorite images.
Remarkably efficient, this AI app has prompted questions from many GenZ users: Why pay for a photographer when AI can deliver equally well? Consequently, the #Remini hashtag boasts over 1.4 billion views on TikTok, with content creators questioning why they should 'pay for close-up shots when AI does it for free?'
However, not all users are impressed with the quality provided by these AI image processing applications. While AI-generated portrait photos are quite impressive, some images lack perfection in body representation. For instance, current AI technology still falls short in addressing issues like hands having too many or too few fingers.
Meanwhile, some users are either not entirely satisfied with the output quality of AI applications like Miaoya or 45ai, or feel that the images are too 'artificial' and lack realism.
“I spent $1.4 and waited for 11 hours, but Miaoya focused too much on the bulging fat on my right arm, asymmetric ribcage, and uneven eye heights,” wrote a Xiaohongshu user in a review of the Miaoya app.
Lucy Liu, a 27-year-old resident of Shanghai, decided to experiment with the Barbie-style photo shoot offered by the 45ai app after receiving an invitation from her friend. Disappointed with the results after more than 24 hours of anticipation, she expressed her dissatisfaction.
“I can hardly recognize myself. It feels like I'm looking at someone else's photo. I prefer pictures that are vibrant and close to life. I don't need a picture that looks artificial,” she stated.
Reference: Insider / SCMP
