Google releases image generation and editing model Nano Banana 2.1, cutting generation cost by about half (report)

What happened

According to AI Times, Google released the image generation and editing model 'Nano Banana 2.1' on the 6th (local time). The report says it is built on Gemini 3.6 Flash. It reportedly improves image quality, realism and editing accuracy at 1K, 2K and 4K resolutions, and handles multiple reference images and characters consistently. The collected excerpt does not say how the model is offered or how it is priced.

Provider claims

Google said the model understands and generates images better than the previous version and cuts image generation cost by about half (per the report).

Why it matters

If a widely used image model gets better while its price is cut in half, price competition among image generation APIs could intensify. It could also change the cost structure of services that generate images at scale.

Sources

• Press 구글, ‘나노 바나나 2.1’ 공개...성능 높이고 비용은 반값으로 AI Times (Korea)

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