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Google releases Nano Banana 2.1, deprecates Nano Banana 2

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Google promises better image quality and character consistency, but its captured release notes give no shutdown date for the older model.

Google’s Gemini API release notes list October 6, 2026, as the general-availability date for Nano Banana 2.1, an image-generation and conversational-editing model available under the ID gemini-nano-banana-2.1.

The release comes with a migration notice for developers using Nano Banana 2, identified as gemini-3.1-flash-image. Google marks that model as deprecated and directs users to the new version. The captured release-note entry explicitly says “no shutdown date announced,” leaving the migration without a stated deadline.

Google says Nano Banana 2.1 retains Flash-level speed and cost efficiency while improving visual quality, adherence to prompts, character consistency across successive edits, and text rendering. These are the company’s claims; the announcement does not quantify the improvements.

The update also supports wide and panoramic image generation in 1:4, 4:1, 1:8 and 8:1 aspect ratios across 1K, 2K and 4K resolutions, according to the release notes.

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  1. gemini: ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/changelog

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