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"Nano Banana 2.5" is not an official Google model name. As of 7 October 2026 no Google document, model card, price list or API id uses it. The phrase is used for three different things: Google's original Nano Banana (model id gemini-2.5-flash-image, 2025), the anonymous Arena test model "spicy-mayo" that testers nicknamed Nano Banana 2.5 in September 2026, and Nano Banana 2.1, the model Google released on 6 October 2026.
Status as of : Google released Nano Banana 2.1 (model id gemini-nano-banana-2.1) on 6 October 2026. Whether the Arena model codenamed spicy-mayo shipped as Nano Banana 2.1 is reported by trackers and not confirmed by Google or Arena. No model named "Nano Banana 2.5" has been released.
| Official status | No model named Nano Banana 2.5 has been released or documented official |
|---|---|
| What shipped instead | Nano Banana 2.1 (gemini-nano-banana-2.1), 6 Oct 2026 official |
| Where to use the released model | Gemini app, Google AI Studio, Gemini API, Google Flow. Spicy Mayo: Nano Banana 2.1 and Nano Banana Pro. official |
Sources: Nano Banana 2.1 model card (Google DeepMind) (6 October 2026) · Gemini API changelog (6 October 2026) · Arena leaderboard changelog (6 October 2026) · @synthwavedd on X (9 September 2026) · TestingCatalog: new Google Flow build points to Nano Banana 2.1 (27 September 2026)
| If you mean… | What it actually is | Status |
|---|---|---|
| "Nano Banana 2.5" = the original Nano Banana (gemini-2.5-flash-image) | The original Nano Banana, model id gemini-2.5-flash-image, launched in preview on 26 Aug 2025 and GA on 2 Oct 2025. The "2.5" in that id is the Gemini generation number, not a Nano Banana version. | Legacy; Google's pricing page now marks it deprecated/restricted official |
| "Nano Banana 2.5" = the spicy-mayo Arena model | An anonymous model seen in Arena blind battles from 9 Sep 2026 and nicknamed 2.5 by testers; a single 18 Sep post described partner access under a Vertex name "nano-banana-2.5" with thinking levels and 512/1K/2K/4K sizes. Never documented by Google. | Never released under that name reported |
| "Nano Banana 2.5" = the next Nano Banana after 2 | That model is Nano Banana 2.1, released 6 Oct 2026: 1K/2K/4K, up to 14 reference images, thinking levels minimal/medium/high. Trackers report it is the spicy-mayo model renamed; Google has not confirmed. | Released as 2.1 (official); identity link (reported) official |
If you arrived here from a "nano banana 2.5 free", "flash", "release date" or "api" search, the honest answers are below. We will not invent a release date for a product Google has not announced.
Checked official, absence: No Google page (Gemini API docs, changelog, pricing, DeepMind model cards, Vertex docs, Gemini app release notes, blog.google) and no Arena page (leaderboards, changelog, blog) contains the words "spicy-mayo" or "Nano Banana 2.5".
| Name | What it is | Official id · date | Status | In Spicy Mayo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| spicy-mayo | Codename of an anonymous model in Arena's blind image battles, first reported 9 Sep 2026. Believed by testers to be a Google model. reported | none | Reported to have shipped as Nano Banana 2.1; not confirmed by Google or Arena. | No. Arena battles only. |
| "Nano Banana 2.5" | Community name for spicy-mayo; one post reported a partner Vertex id nano-banana-2.5 (18 Sep 2026). Not in any Google document. reported | none | Not a released model. | No. |
| Nano Banana 2.1 | Google's newest image model, "an update to Nano Banana 2"; 1K/2K/4K, up to 14 reference images, thinking levels. official | gemini-nano-banana-2.1 · GA | Current. | Yes. 1K, 2K or 4K (30, 45 or 60 credits). |
| Nano Banana 2 | Fast model, Gemini 3.1 Flash Image. official | gemini-3.1-flash-image · GA | Deprecated 6 Oct 2026; shuts down 29 Oct 2026. Shutdown . | No (never offered; shutting down). |
| Nano Banana 2 Lite | Lower-cost 1K-only model. official | gemini-3.1-flash-lite-image · GA | Current. | No. |
| Nano Banana Pro | Google's highest-quality released image model; 2K/4K. official | gemini-3-pro-image · GA | Current. | Yes. 2K 50 credits, 4K 100 credits. |
| Nano Banana (original) | The original Nano Banana (model id gemini-2.5-flash-image), the "2.5" people confuse with "Nano Banana 2.5". official | gemini-2.5-flash-image · GA | Legacy; listed as deprecated on Google's pricing page. | No. |
| GPT Image 2.5 Flare / Sunburst (OpenAI) | Arena #1 and #2 on both image boards (6 Oct 2026 snapshot). official | gpt-image-2.5-flare, gpt-image-2.5-sunburst (default snapshot 8 Sep 2026) | Current. | No; GPT Image 2 is available. |
| Spec | Reported for "nano-banana-2.5" (18 Sep 2026, single X post) | Nano Banana 2.1 (Google, 6 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Model name / id | "nano-banana-2.5" (partner Vertex name) reported | gemini-nano-banana-2.1 official |
| Thinking levels | minimal, medium, high reported | minimal, medium (default), high official |
| Output sizes | 512, 1K, 2K, 4K reported | 1K (default), 2K, 4K; fal's enum has no 512 official |
| Reference images | not stated | up to 14 per prompt; up to 4 in Spicy Mayo official |
| Price | not stated | $0.0336 / $0.0504 / $0.0756 per 1K / 2K / 4K image, Gemini API standard tier; $0.08 / $0.12 / $0.16 via fal official |
| Availability | "released in the upcoming week" (did not happen) reported | GA in Gemini API and Vertex; Gemini app, AI Studio, Flow official |
The match between the reported thinking levels and what 2.1 shipped with is the main reason trackers say the two are the same model reported. It is circumstantial; Google has not said so. Sources: @lyraxana on X · Nano Banana 2.1 model page (Gemini API) · Gemini API pricing · fal: google/nano-banana-2.1.
There is no Nano Banana 2.5 release date because there is no Nano Banana 2.5 release. The rumored "next week" launch of 18 September 2026 did not occur reported. The model Google launched next was Nano Banana 2.1 on 6 October 2026 official. If a model named 2.5 is ever announced, this page will say so on the day, with the source.
Because "2.5" is not a product, the comparison people want is Nano Banana 2.1 vs Nano Banana Pro: 2.1 is the lower-cost workhorse (1K/2K/4K, 14 references, $0.0336 per 1K image in Google's API); Pro (gemini-3-pro-image) is the premium model ($0.134 per 1K/2K image), still the choice for the most demanding 4K and typography work official, prices. On Arena's 6 October 2026 snapshot, 2.1 ranked #5 in text-to-image and #6 in image edit, Pro (2k) #16 and #12 official. OpenAI's GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst and Flare held #1 and #2 on both boards official; early testers said spicy-mayo was "not meaningfully better than GPT-Image 2.5, especially world knowledge" reported, @synthwavedd (source).
Compare the image models available in Spicy Mayo by settings and credits →The traits testers praised (crisp poster and product text, interface fidelity, fine texture) are what Nano Banana 2.1 is built for. In Spicy Mayo you can run it at 1K for fast drafts (30 credits), 2K for finals (45) or 4K (60), feed it up to four reference photos, and compare the same prompt on Nano Banana Pro without leaving the page. Three prompts to start with are on the model page.
Change the orange chair to a glossy bright cherry red chair. Preserve the chair shape, the blue water, reflection, background, and composition.
What to check: Compare the silhouette, waterline, reflection, and crop with the original. A successful color change can still alter fine details.
Open the studio with Nano Banana 2.1A square editorial poster of an unbranded cobalt glass bottle on an ivory stone pedestal. Warm side lighting, soft shadows, minimal composition. Include only the exact words "A NEW NOTE" at the top, with generous margins.
What to check: Check every letter, the number of bottles, margins, and whether the lighting matches the request.
Open the studio with Nano Banana 2.1Replace the background with a warm ivory studio backdrop. Preserve the product silhouette, label text, colors, and camera angle. Add a soft contact shadow consistent with light from the upper left. Do not add props.
What to check: Use the same owned product photo for each model. Compare the label, edges, contact shadow, and any added objects.
Open the studio with Nano Banana 2.1These prompts are repeatable tests, not published benchmark results. Paste the prompt into the studio; the cost is shown before you generate.
Sometimes that is what people mean. The original Nano Banana from 2025 has the model id gemini-2.5-flash-image; its "2.5" is the Gemini generation. It is not a new model and Google now lists it as legacy.
spicy-mayo is the Arena codename that testers nicknamed Nano Banana 2.5. Google never used either name. Trackers report the model shipped as Nano Banana 2.1 on 6 October 2026; Google has not confirmed the codename. Read the spicy-mayo tracker
No. A trace label pairing "Nano Banana 2.5" with a "Flash" suffix was seen in Google Flow's web code on 24 September 2026 and replaced by "Nano Banana 2.1" three days later, as reported by TestingCatalog. Google's product name has no "Flash" suffix.
No model by that name is in AI Studio. Nano Banana 2.1 is, as gemini-nano-banana-2.1 (official).
There is nothing to add under that name. Nano Banana 2.1 is already selectable here. Nano Banana 2.1 in Spicy Mayo
Google deprecated Nano Banana 2 (gemini-3.1-flash-image) on 6 October 2026 and shuts it down on 29 October 2026, pointing developers to Nano Banana 2.1 (official). Spicy Mayo never offered Nano Banana 2 and will not add a model three weeks from shutdown.
Neither exists. Google's current image models are Nano Banana 2.1, Nano Banana 2 Lite and Nano Banana Pro (official).
Every page cited here was fetched on the date shown. First-party pages from Google, Arena, fal and OpenAI carry the official label; named third parties carry reported.
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