I don’t use a lot of AI applications. There’s the generative fill-in apps like Photoshop and Lightroom, as well as the crop of online chatbots like ChatGPT and local bots like Chat with RTX. But there’s only one AI tool that I find myself constantly reaching for when using my PC.
And now, look at the upscaled result below. This new photo has a resolution of 16,256 x 12,672, and the file has increased by almost 200x in size. Sure, there are a couple of issues like the lines on the left side blurring together and some smudging around the dark edges. But considering the source material, that’s an insane improvement.
Digging deeper Now that you know what Upscayl does, let’s dive deeper. The general process works like this. After you’ve installed Upscayl, you choose an image, select a model, set your scaling factor and output folder, and scale the image. That’s it. Unlike the vast majority of AI apps — especially those you download on GitHub — you don’t need to fuss around with the command line or go through some complicated setup process. Cliché as it is, Upscayl just works.
Thankfully, you don’t need to settle for the models included with the app. Upscayl maintains a pack of custom models, and you’re free to add your own models if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty. Adding the models is dead simple, too. After you’ve downloaded the models, you just need to put them in a folder named “models” and direct Upscayl to their location. It’ll automatically load them up for you to use, and you don’t even need to restart the app to see them.
I recommend playing around with the different models, too. There are some that struggle with certain elements of an image, particularly when it comes to text. If you’re upscaling a low-res image with a lot of text, you might not get the results you’re expecting.