Guides

How to make a photo high resolution (AI upscaling explained)

Updated 21 October 2026

Tool for this guide: AI photo enhancer

Short answer: for photos, use the AI photo enhancer: add the photo, choose 2× or 4× and press Enhance. For logos, screenshots and graphics, use the instant image upscaler, which keeps lines and text exactly as drawn.

Which upscaler should I use?

Both give results of up to 16 megapixels (for example 4000 × 4000), the most every browser can handle reliably, and both run on your device.

Step by step (AI)

1. Open the AI photo enhancer and add your photo.
2. Choose 2× or 4×. A 500 × 500 photo becomes 1000 × 1000 at 2× or 2000 × 2000 at 4×.
3. Press Enhance, drag the before/after slider to compare, then download.

The first time, your browser downloads the AI model; after that it's cached.

What upscaling can and can't do

• Can: sharpen mild blur, clean JPEG blockiness, make small pictures fill a bigger space, give prints more pixels.
• Can't: recover detail that was never captured. Heavy motion blur or a badly out-of-focus photo won't become perfectly sharp.

For printing

Prints look sharp at about 300 pixels per inch. A 6 × 4 inch print needs 1800 × 1200 pixels. Upscale, then check the result with the DPI checker. More in image DPI for printing.

Questions

Why is it slow on my phone?

Without WebGPU the AI runs on the processor. Choose 2×, or use a recent version of Chrome or Safari.

Does it work for faces?

Yes, faces come out cleaner. Very small faces may look slightly painted, because the AI has little to work from.

Should I sharpen afterwards?

Usually not needed. For a slightly soft result, a light pass with sharpen image helps.