OpenAI on Sept. 8, 2026, launched ChatGPT Images 2.5, claiming sharper detail, more precise editing and up to about 50% lower latency versus Images 2.0, plus Sketch and templates and API variants Flare and Sunburst.
Independent side-by-side tests of Sunburst via Magnific against Nano Banana Pro favored Nano Banana Pro on starting photos and Image 2.5 on multi-reference composition, outfit edits, billboard and text swaps, style matching and product replacement. That comparison is creator judgment.
Creator judgment: zoomed faces can show fractal or oversharpened texture, repeated edit chains oversharpened images, and posters still needed typography cleanup. A common workflow is to generate the base elsewhere, then use Image 2.5 for controlled changes.
Those tests put 4K generation at about $1 on Magnific. Those cost and quality lines are creator tests, not OpenAI benchmarks.