"Audio Eraser" from the Galaxy S25 Ultra: What the AI can really do
The Audio Eraser is one of the new AI functions of the Galaxy S25. I find the idea of being able to remove annoying noises from videos with little effort very tempting and give it a try.
Someone chatting into the sunset on the beach, a car driving past while I'm talking about important things: there are many occasions when I want to remove background noise from videos. Samsung's Audio Eraser does this impressively well in some cases, but it also regularly reaches its limits.
How the Audio Eraser works
The Audio Eraser is located in the single view of the Samsung Gallery app. It is the star icon of the Galaxy AI in the bottom toolbar. One click and the AI analyses the audio track. The button does not currently have any other function. The analysis takes place directly on the smartphone - no data is sent to the cloud.
Source: Jan Johannsen
I have tried the function with videos up to 15 seconds long. The analysis takes about two to four seconds. The function is not suitable for edited films. The changes can only be applied to the entire video and not just to specific sequences.
Source: Jan Johannsen
So far, Audio Eraser has recognised four different types of sound: voice, music, wind and noise - not all of which occur in every video. Traffic noise, for example, falls under noise, while the AI recognises the siren of an ambulance as music. I can then move a slider from -100 to +100 for each of them. The 0 is the original volume. By clicking on "Auto", the software suggests settings that have not yet convinced me. I like to move the controls myself.
This is what the Audio Eraser does
I recorded several video clips in different environments with the Galaxy S25 Ultra without an additional microphone. The Audio Eraser's post-production ranged from brilliant to disappointing. To summarise, I found that the AI software removes short and not too loud noises satisfactorily.
For example, I remove my voice nattering into the video and keep the background noise. That would be nicer on the beach, but I didn't get the expenses approved. So in the example video, there's the sound of the city and a meowing cat instead of the sound of waves and seagulls.
As I use the microphone on the S25 Ultra, it can happen that you can hear it in the video when I touch or tap the smartphone. This is not nice and in a quiet environment, the Audio Eraser removes these noises - at least sometimes, but not reliably.
I am even less convinced when music is playing in the background. The Audio Eraser does manage to make it quieter, but only the instruments. The vocals remain unchanged, or only change if I reduce the volume for the "Voice" control - and this also applies to my voice.
The Audio Eraser reaches its limits with wind or road traffic. Both are just as loud or even louder than my voice. If I move the controls to -100, the background noise is greatly reduced or disappears completely. However, my voice also suffers, it is cut off to the point of being unintelligible. If I set the slider between -90 and -95, my voice is less garbled, but it is no easier to understand than in the unedited version.
So the AI is no help, as wind and traffic noise in particular can often be distracting in videos.
AI is not a panacea
The idea of the Audio Eraser is good, but still needs to be improved. It is possible to recognise where the technology can help. However, it still acts too coarsely and sometimes pulls down the entire audio range and does not allow any differentiation. I can only make all voices quieter or louder and only for the entire video.
For professionals, the Audio Eraser offers settings that are too imprecise and amateurs can only hope that the AI recognises and filters the disturbing sounds without affecting other sounds. So far, this is more AI-washing than a helpful function.
Header image: Jan Johannsen
8 people like this article
As a primary school pupil, I used to sit in a friend's living room with many of my classmates to play the Super NES. Now I get my hands on the latest technology and test it for you. In recent years at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, now at Digitec and Galaxus.
