Nano Banana Pro Review: Is Google’s AI Image Generator Too Good?

AI image generation has improved so much over the previous few years, however Google’s nano banana fashions take AI creation to a complete new, considerably scary, degree. The 2 variations, the unique (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) and the brand new professional (Gemini 3 Pro Image), have solely been round for a few months, however they’ve rapidly redefined what’s potential with AI picture era and enhancing. 

The professional model makes use of Gemini 3’s reasoning mannequin to energy outcomes. Which means it takes slightly bit longer to generate, however the photographs are extra detailed. You may as well add swaths of legible textual content to your photographs, an {industry} first. The professional model is the very best AI picture era software CNET has ever examined, arms down. However that is not essentially a very good factor. 

Our testing revealed how straightforward it’s to create ultrarealistic photographs and infographics with fallacious data. The Gemini-made photographs lacked lots of the commonest errors in AI-generated photographs, which is sweet for creators. But it additionally signifies that anybody who comes throughout the Gemini-created photographs on-line may have a more durable time deciphering if they’re real or AI. Google removes the sparkle-shaped watermark from some photographs, which does not assist. Though Google’s SynthID or invisible watermark is embedded in all AI-generated photographs, the detector know-how in Gemini is too limited to make a distinction. These aren’t new problems, however nano banana professional’s capabilities make them much more prevalent and tough to resolve.

Whether or not you utilize nano banana by way of Gemini or benefit from extra settings in Google’s AI Studio or Move, it is easy to make use of the mannequin to create. Here is every little thing that you must learn about nano banana professional primarily based on our testing. For extra, try the best AI image generators and our AI essentials.

How good are the pictures, and the way properly do they match prompts?

Nano banana professional makes among the most spectacular AI photographs I’ve ever seen. Even after the shine wore off following my initial hands-on experience, I used to be regularly awed by the nano banana professional all through my in-depth testing. For lots of the photographs I generated, I would not have the ability to instantly inform in the event that they have been actual or created with AI — a stunningly horrifying thought. Whereas bouncing between being impressed and unnerved, one fact remained: Nano banana professional obliterates the road between actuality and AI. And that is the worst this mannequin will ever be.

Nano banana professional photographs made in Gemini mechanically generate as 16:9 panorama photographs; you may want to make use of AI Studio or Move to alter the facet ratio or every other customization settings. Gemini is excellent at adhering to your prompts, which means it offers you what you ask for. You may try our information to writing the best AI image prompt, or in the event you’re pressed for time, you possibly can ask Gemini to enhance your immediate.

Nano banana professional excels at realism. I requested for a picture of a rating displaying UNC-Chapel Hill profitable over Duke College. Gemini used the ESPN graphic structure to signify the ultimate rating and added logos from ESPN, ACC and the colleges. The textual content is intelligible and the long-lasting shades of blue are spot-on, and it even added a mirrored image within the TV display to indicate a lamp lighting the scene. It is these little particulars that make nano banana professional photographs really extraordinary.

There are some limits to what Gemini can generate. For instance, Gemini had no downside creating a picture primarily based on the track Mr. Brightside by The Killers, however once I requested for the same picture impressed by a Taylor Swift track, it refused to generate, stating it did not have entry to that content material. By no means thoughts that Google Search actually has oodles of content material on Swift; Google is probably going aiming to keep away from any copyright infringement allegations.

The most important leap ahead is nano banana professional’s means to create legible textual content. AI inventive fashions have lengthy struggled with this — we used to have the ability to level to mangled textual content as apparent indicators {that a} picture or video was AI-generated. However nano banana professional is without doubt one of the most competent fashions I’ve ever examined, and it simply handles integrating clear textual content into imagery. It is scarily good.

Whereas the vast majority of the graphics I made with Gemini have been just about flawless, I did discover a number of errors. Some have been so small you would not instantly discover, like with this Fourth Wing design. In the event you zoom in very intently, there is a nonsense phrase above “Fourth.” Hallucinations like these are annoying, however there is a larger downside when the mannequin begins to make up data.

I requested Gemini to create a collection of infographics concerning the new iPhone 17, and CNET’s cell consultants noticed points instantly. Gemini could not distinguish between the options of the bottom and professional fashions, usually mixing them up. The AI could not appropriately render what the again of any iPhone 17 seemed like; CNET’s Patrick Holland stated one picture really seemed like an earlier mock-up of what individuals suspected the brand new iPhone may appear to be primarily based on the Google Pixel, which is why the AI model appears like a Pixel painted orange with Apple’s brand added. I requested Gemini to restrict its data to CNET’s personal specs comparability web page, and it nonetheless made a picture filled with false data.

Past the instant points, the extra urgent subject is how convincing the picture appears. If you do not have in-depth data of the subject you are asking Gemini to visualise, you won’t discover when the AI begins making stuff up. This is without doubt one of the most common and concerning issues with chatbots, and it is more likely to persist as AI picture era depends on chatbots’ data bases. Future mannequin updates may assist with this, however for now, that you must maintain an in depth eye on the knowledge Gemini is together with in your photographs.

Enhancing photographs with nano banana professional

My largest criticism concerning the authentic nano banana mannequin was its picture enhancing, which did not work in the best way it was alleged to. I am happy, and considerably unnerved, to report that the professional mannequin fixes most of those errors.

Nano banana professional is nice at altering the background surroundings of photographs. I uploaded an image of my household we took earlier than attending a snowy soccer recreation at my sister’s school final yr. It was so chilly we did not get one other household shot that day, however Gemini was in a position to repair that.

The professional consequence was beautiful — the stadium is a precise reproduction, the indicators are crystal clear and the snow appears very pure. I tricked a variety of members of the family with that picture on Thanksgiving. I gave the identical immediate to the unique mannequin, and there is not any doubt the professional’s picture was higher. 

I did attempt to obtain an analogous consequence by importing a number of reference photographs of my household and asking Gemini to mix them, however the outcomes weren’t pretty much as good — facial expressions took on a plastic-y AI look, the indicators within the background weren’t as clear, and many others. To get the very best outcomes with a number of reference photographs, it helps to make use of high-quality photographs with plain backgrounds, which I did not have.

I additionally requested Gemini to relight my headshot. I requested for a hunter inexperienced background and a highlight on my face. You may see how the unique mannequin distorted the shadowed a part of my face and the way the highlight utterly missed most of my face. The professional mannequin used rather more pure lighting and appropriately lit up my face.

The one edit that drove me barely bananas (sorry, could not resist) with the unique mannequin was making an attempt to take away reflections. Granted, eradicating reflections is a tough picture edit. The professional mannequin beat the unique in that it really eliminated the reflection, but it surely nonetheless compromised the advantageous particulars and distorted the faces. Apologies, Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis. Possibly the following nano banana will lastly move this check?

Enhancing photographs with Gemini’s nano banana professional is actually higher than with the unique mannequin. The conversational circulation is nice for individuals who like chatting to edit. However a whole lack of enhancing instruments means it is not nice for individuals who need any degree of hands-on management. Even the professional mannequin can solely deal with larger edits, and too many iterative edits dilute the standard of the picture. If you need extra granular management, it is price heading to Photoshop or Canva and utilizing their AI and instruments. That is one space the place it’s totally clear Google isn’t a inventive software program firm.

Google’s authentic mannequin vs. professional

Nano banana professional is the very best mannequin, however there are occasions when you could not need to use it. The unique mannequin is way faster than the professional, and it will probably deal with any type of wholesale or bespoke AI picture era properly. The professional mannequin needs to be the go-to alternative for customers who want extra in-depth picture edits and those that have to depend on Gemini’s world data for infographics. 

Here is a fuller breakdown of the unique nano banana mannequin versus the brand new professional mannequin.

How briskly do photographs arrive?

Nano banana professional makes use of a reasoning mannequin, which tends to take slightly bit longer to run. I discovered that my photographs have been generated in anyplace from 50 to 120 seconds. Two minutes can be thought-about lengthy for different picture fashions, but it surely’s not unreasonable. If you need faster outcomes, change to the quick mannequin to make use of the unique nano banana mannequin.

Closing ideas

Nano banana professional is awe-inspiring. A few of the outcomes are superior — they’re grounded in actuality in a manner that opponents like Midjourney and OpenAI clearly aren’t. That is why I stated that Nano banana professional is without doubt one of the finest AI picture mills CNET has ever examined. It is also a deeply scary software: The outcomes are scarily good, and it is unnervingly able to creating nearly something. And scariest of all, simply because it will probably create clear textual content in photographs doesn’t suggest it will probably produce dependable sources of data. It is all the very best components of picture mills and the worst components of chatbots.

The professional mannequin is a robust software, a lot in order that I anticipate it can rapidly develop into a go-to for anybody keen on creating media with AI. Creators of all ability ranges will probably have the ability to discover makes use of for it. However I fear that it’ll additionally develop into a go-to software for dangerous actors who can benefit from its fast and straightforward course of to create dangerous outcomes, ones that we can’t have the ability to instantly establish as AI-generated. We have already seen how AI corporations’ guardrails can fail. 

When photographs like those created with nano banana professional look convincing, we’re not going to be mechanically suspicious of their origins. That is an issue, particularly with information-heavy designs like infographics. It does not matter that Gemini can create legible textual content if the knowledge is fallacious. And after we’re idly scrolling by way of our social media feeds, we do not all the time scrutinize the posts we see or learn the advantageous print to see if the headlines try. It units the stage for lots of confusion, chaos and misinformation.

In brief, nano banana professional is the way forward for generative media. However that future may very well be treacherous if we aren’t cautious.

Watch this: Use Google’s Veo 3 AI Video Generator: It Helped Me Produce This Video

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How CNET checks AI picture mills

CNET takes a sensible strategy to reviewing AI picture mills. Our objective is to find out how good it’s relative to the competitors and which functions it serves finest. To try this, we give the AI prompts primarily based on real-world use instances, comparable to rendering in a selected model, combining components right into a single picture and dealing with lengthier descriptions. We rating the picture mills on a 10-point scale that considers components comparable to how properly photographs match prompts, creativity of outcomes and response pace. See how we test AI for extra.

Nano banana professional pricing, availability and privateness

You should utilize nano banana professional at no cost within the Gemini app and internet browser, however you may need to improve to considered one of Google’s AI subscriptions for increased utilization limits. These plans begin at $20 per thirty days and include a bunch of different companies, like extra Google storage. In the event you’re a paying Gemini subscriber, I extremely suggest utilizing nano banana professional in Google’s AI Studio or Move so you possibly can benefit from the hands-on controls to customise your photographs.

Google’s basic Gemini privacy policy says it will probably use any data you give it, like reference photographs, for bettering its AI merchandise. That is why the corporate recommends you keep away from importing delicate or non-public data. Like all main AI corporations, Google has a prohibited use policy geared toward stopping the creation of unlawful and abusive materials.

For extra, try our expert-backed ways to fix AI image hallucinations and OpenAI’s Sora vs. Google’s Veo 3 AI video generators.