AI brief
Google released Nano Banana 2.1, an image model built on Gemini 3.6 Flash that outperforms the previous Pro model on some benchmarks at lower cost. The earlier Pro model often produced better images in practice despite lower benchmark scores.
Why it matters: The new model offers stronger benchmark results at a lower cost than Google's previous Pro image model.
Written by AI from The Decoder's published text.
Background
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Google
- Newest model on the API
- Gemini 4 Argon · 13 Oct 2026 · $2 in / $10 out per million tokens
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Source
“Google's new Nano Banana 2.1 image model uses Gemini 3.6 Flash and beats the previous Pro model in some benchmarks at a lower cost. But its predecessor also scored well in tests, while Pro often produced better images in practice.”
Reporting from a publisher outside the organisation being covered.
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