Google released Nano Banana 2.1 on October 6, 2026, as an update to the Nano Banana 2 model. The new version is based on Gemini 3.6 Flash, while the predecessor, now marked as deprecated, operates under the technical name gemini-3.1-flash-image.
The 2.1 model supports up to 14 references, including four characters and ten objects. It features improvements in realism, instruction following, text rendering, and multi-turn editing. The model offers new wide and vertical aspect ratios but no longer supports the 0.5K resolution mode.
Pricing for 2K images in Nano Banana 2.1 is approximately half that of the previous version, costing $0.0504 compared to $0.101 for Nano Banana 2. The update is recommended by Google as a direct replacement for the older model.
Comparative tests conducted on October 6, 2026, show that Nano Banana 2.1 performs better with complex prompts containing multiple specific constraints. However, when transferring character likenesses between scenes, both versions showed mixed results regarding detail preservation.
