Freepik’s New Upscaler Feature Can Upscale Your Images Up To 4K

Freepik, one of the largest databases for high-quality stock photos, videos, vector illustrations, and more, has been going all-in with AI with the recent introduction of its AI-powered tools. In the past couple of weeks, Freepik has released innovative AI tools like Sketch-to-Image and Reimagine.

Today, the company dropped another AI-powered tool, Upscaler, which can scale up low-resolution images by 400%.

What is Freepik Upscaler?

This is the latest exciting addition to the suite of AI features from Freepik. Upscaler can take any image and upscale it up to stunning 4K resolution.

Aside from dramatically increasing the image resolution, Upscaler also enhances the overall quality of the image by refining details, increasing sharpness, and improving overall fidelity.

How to access the Upscaler feature

Head over to this page to learn more about the new feature. Keep in mind that the Upscaler feature is still in beta, so it may not show up under the tools menu just yet.

Click the “Start upscaling” button to open up the Upscaler page. Now let’s talk about the dashboard.

Similar to the Sketch-to-Image and Reimagine features, the UI controls and dashboard layout of the Upscaler are delightfully straightforward. You’ll find the image settings on the left side, history on the right side, and a preview of the original vs. the upscaled image front and center.

How it works

First, upload the input image you wish to upscale by either clicking the “Upload image” button or simply dragging it onto the drop zone.

Next, adjust the parameters to your liking, such as the resolution, image style, style intensity, and custom prompt.

By default, enhanced images will have a resolution of 2K. However, selecting the “None” option in the Imagination menu upgrades the resolution to 4K.

After you click the “upscale” button, your image will be queued and processed in the background.

From my experience, the processing of each image takes around 20 to 30 seconds. Here’s an example of an upscaled image of a flower that will make your eyes pop.

Okay, the difference is not very obvious there.  Finer details were added without compromising the overall image composition. It’s like the AI has a keen eye for detail and knows exactly where to make enhancements. Also, the size of the image increased from 1024x1024 2.9 MB to 2048x2048 7 MB.

You can do so much with your newly upscaled image. Download it, enhance it further, generate variations with Reimagine, draw over it with the Sketch tool, or make additional modifications with the dedicated image editor.

Other Examples

Check out more before and after examples below.

Prompt: a painting with gold leaf and black in the style of artist Gustav Klimpt; a young bohemian artist in her Paris studio in 1880

The way the AI deliberately adds intricate details to her clothes and the background art is simply mind-blowing. This isn’t just an upscaler tool; it’s a full-fledged image enhancer that takes the final output to a whole new level of awesomeness compared to the original.

Here’s another one:

Prompt: A photorealistic image of a delivery person on a black motorcycle, more robust than a scooter, equipped with a large integrated delivery box, no backpack, isolated on a white background. The rider is in a dynamic driving pose. Created Using: high-resolution digital photography, realistic rendering, sharp focus on bike and rider, minimalist style, detailed bike design, studio lighting, hd quality, natural look

I don’t even need to zoom in on this example. You can clearly see the improvements to the image on the right. It even added gloves to the rider. How crazy cool is that?

A few things to remember

1. If the image is lower than 500 pixels, the image cannot be upscaled
2. If the image is larger than 2048 pixels, it will be downscaled before processing
3. The upscale speed is fast, somewhere around 10–15 seconds per processing
4. The AI detects the subjects and various elements of the uploaded image and automatically craft a prompt

How much does it cost?

Freepik offers both free and premium subscription tiers, each with its own set of features and limitations to suit different needs and budgets.

Free users have a daily usage limit, which you can see on the usage counter in the top right corner of the screen.

If you find yourself needing more than that, you might want to consider upgrading to a Premium account which costs around 16 USD.

As a Premium user, you can generate 20 images per day with Upscaler. This tool is currently available exclusively to premium users.

Final Thoughts

The new Upscaler feature from Freepik is an incredible addition to the current family of AI tools. The fact that it is powered by one of the most beloved AI upscalers, Magnific, means it’s one of the best, if not the best, image upscalers and enhancers out there. The results speak for themselves — they’re absolutely stunning!

Why does this matter? Well, I have tried several other image upscalers, like Gigapixel by Topaz Labs, but they usually require high-end GPUs to run. Freepik’s web-based solution is a huge convenience for users because they can access the service from any device.

Also, AI is improving at an astonishing rate. If the current state of the Upscaler is already great, just imagine how much it’ll improve in the next few months and years. I assume the next iterations will upscale images by up to 8K or 16K and even process videos in real-time.

If you’re someone looking for top-notch upscaling tools, this new AI tool from Freepik is definitely worth checking out.

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