OpenAI released Images 2.6 with GIFs and two API models

An app that pays for image generation now has two OpenAI models to pick between. OpenAI released Images 2.6 on 4 November. It replaces Images 2.5 in ChatGPT and Codex. The API now has two named models, Flare and Sunburst. OpenAI says the new model generates images 50 percent faster than before.

Flare, Sunburst and three new API controls

Flare is the faster option. OpenAI says it can make an image in as little as six seconds at low quality. The company says layout quality on posters and product images has improved. Sunburst is the model for more detail and stronger consistency across edits. It is used at medium or high quality settings. OpenAI has not published a per-image cost or a token count for either model on the release page.

Three API controls are new. Image markup was already in ChatGPT. It is now in the API too. A developer can point at a part of an image and say what to change there. SVG export lets a model return a design. The design can be reused on a website, in print or in an app.

A new complexity parameter sets how much work the model does to plan a request. OpenAI recommends low complexity for faster edits. Medium or high is for scenes with many elements. Image quality and complexity are separate knobs.

GIFs in ChatGPT and in the API

ChatGPT can now make an animated GIF from a prompt or from a photo. The user can change the playback speed. They can also edit single frames. OpenAI quotes Coco Mao, CEO of OpenArt, calling GIFs "the native language of social media" on the release page. The company says Picsart, Figma Weave, fal, Sable, Higgsfield and Town were also early access customers.

OpenAI also says people make 4 billion images a week across ChatGPT, Codex and the API. That is more than half a billion a day on average. The figure is OpenAI's own, unaudited.

What this changes for a team using the API

The Flare and Sunburst split is the practical change. A team using one model today has to pick which jobs want cheaper, faster output. Other jobs want detail and consistency. OpenAI does not publish a per-image token count. So a team running thousands of generations a day cannot read the cost difference off the pricing page.

The complexity knob adds a second dimension to the test. A low-complexity Sunburst run and a high-complexity Flare run are different jobs. Run a short test on your own traffic. Hold complexity fixed and swap the model. That is the only way to tell which one is cheaper for your work.

Images 2.6 is available in ChatGPT and Codex across every subscription tier on desktop, mobile and web. GPT-Image-2.6 Flare and Sunburst are available in the API.

Source

• Introducing Images 2.6, OpenAI.
• ChatGPT will now make you animated GIFs, The Verge.