The final version of Apple’s most recent iPhone software, iOS 17, is anticipated to be released shortly. Additionally, creating stickers and animated stickers from images and live photos, respectively, is one of the most entertaining features. Until iOS 17 is out, you may use stickers, which are based on one of my favorite iOS 16 features.

Although the tool isn’t officially named, it allows you to distinguish the subject of a picture—such as a person—from the backdrop. To make it work, just tap and hold on a picture. To upload, share, or create a collage, for instance, you may “lift” the cutout from the picture and drag it into another app if you continue to hold it.

Alongside the iPhone 14 series, iOS 16 made its debut with a ton of awesome new features. Prior to iOS 16, I would have to use an application like Adobe Photoshop to get rid of the background from a picture. The best thing about this tool, however, is that it comes pre-installed on iOS 16, so there’s no need to download a separate app or create an account.

The tap-and-lift picture function is really a component of Visual Look Up, which was introduced with iOS 15 and can identify anything in your images, including food, plants, landmarks, and even pets. With only a press and hold, Visual Look Up in iOS 16 allows you to take that item out of a picture or PDF.

Apple demonstrated how to pull a dog from the background of a picture and send it in a message by touching and holding on to it at the WWDC.

During WWDC, Robby Walker, senior director of Siri Language and Technologies at Apple, gave the first demonstration of the new tap-and-lift tool. He touched and held on to a picture of a French bulldog. In a text message, Walker pulled the dog’s “cut out” from the picture into the text area.

Walker said, “It feels like magic,”

Although Apple sometimes overuses the term “magic,” this gadget does seem to be rather stunning. Walker was quick to point out that the impact was the product of a sophisticated machine-learning model that can execute 40 billion operations in a second thanks to Apple’s neural engine and core machine learning.

I get very excited when I realize how much processing and machine learning it takes to remove a dog from a picture. New phone features often have to be game-changing or address a significant issue. I suppose you could argue that the tap-and-hold tool resolves the issue of eliminating the backdrop from a picture, which may be a significant issue for certain people.

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The resemblance to another iOS 16 picture feature caught my attention. The picture editor separates your wallpaper’s primary topic from its backdrop on the lock screen. This allows you to place lock screen components, such as the time and date, in front of the backdrop of the picture but behind the topic of your wallpaper. It makes the lock screen seem like a glossy magazine cover.

Even after using the new Visual Look Up tool several times, I’m constantly astonished by how fast and dependable it is.