Google released the Nano Banana 2.1 image model, with the developer call price being about half of the previous generation

Google released its latest image generation and editing model, Nano Banana 2.1, on October 6, and it has been launched in the Gemini app, AI mode of Google Search, Google Ads, as well as developer tools like Google AI Studio, Flow, and Stitch. This model can generate images from text descriptions and edit existing photos.

Google stated that this upgrade focuses on three aspects: visual design, mask-based editing (where only the marked area changes), and subject consistency, meaning that characters or objects retain their original features after multiple edits. In the overall preference test for text-to-image generation, Nano Banana 2.1 scored 1050 ELO points, higher than Nano Banana 2's 990 points and Nano Banana Pro's 935 points. The model can handle up to 14 reference images simultaneously, track 4 characters and 10 objects, and output up to 4K resolution with an aspect ratio of up to 8:1. Developers can also set the thinking time before generation and enable fact-checking based on Google Search and Google Image Search.

When called through the Google Developer API, the standard 1K image is priced at $0.0336, about half of Nano Banana 2's $0.067; the 4K image is $0.0756, while the previous generation was $0.151, and bulk tasks can enjoy a 50% discount. The above performance data comes from Google's own testing.