{"id":110899,"date":"2025-09-03T06:42:23","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T06:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/110899\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T06:42:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T06:42:23","slug":"i-spent-the-weekend-comparing-geminis-new-nano-banana-image-tool-to-chatgpt-and-theres-one-clear-winner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/110899\/","title":{"rendered":"I spent the weekend comparing Gemini\u2019s new Nano Banana image tool to ChatGPT \u2013 and there\u2019s one clear winner"},"content":{"rendered":"

At least as far as I\u2019m concerned, ChatGPT has been ruling the roost for image generation in AI ever since its native image generation capabilities were added in March this year, sparking all sorts of viral image crazes, like the Studio Ghibili<\/a> one, for example.<\/p>\n

Since then Google has taken a bit of a step back, but has been slowly working on its own rival, called Nano Banana. Last week it added its new image editor to Gemini and made it available to everybody, and now I think it has become my favourite image editor, even over ChatGPT. Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n

One banana, two banana<\/p>\n

Apparently the name Nano Banana was the anonymous codename for Google\u2019s Gemini 2.5 Flash Image model during its testing phase on the LMArena leaderboard, and over time it stuck.<\/p>\n

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You can access Nano Banana in three ways, either through the Gemini app, selecting ‘Create images’ from the drop-down Tools menu in the prompt bar (you\u2019ll know it\u2019s now using Nano Banana because there\u2019s a new banana icon next to \u2018Create images\u2019). Or you can go to Google\u2019s AI Studio<\/a> and use it there, or you can head to its own dedicated website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been playing with Nanao Banana all weekend and can report that it\u2019s very good in three main areas: Character consistency, realism and image-to-image fusion.<\/p>\n

Character consistency<\/p>\n

First of all, let\u2019s look at character consistency. If I ask Gemini 2.5 Flash to \u201cDraw a cat in a historically accurate Roman Centurion helmet\u201c it produces this magnificent-looking kitty:<\/p>\n

\n

\"Roman\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Google Gemini)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a nice bright, clear image. If I then say: \u201cNow make that cat appear in the coliseum”. It does it, and the cat and the helmet look the same:<\/p>\n

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\n

\"Roman\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Google Gemini)<\/p>\n

With ChatGPT, I say: \u201cDraw a cat in a historically accurate Roman Centurion helmet\u201d and it produces this:<\/p>\n

\n

\"Roman\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: OpenAI)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s got that characteristic, darker feel that ChatGPT seems to default to, but it is indeed a cat in a Roman helmet, albeit a wonky one.<\/p>\n

When I ask it to, \u201cNow make that cat appear in the coliseum”, it produces this:<\/p>\n

\n

\"CatGPT\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: OpenAI)<\/p>\n

If you look closely you\u2019ll see the helmet is different now. It\u2019s little consistency details like this that Nano Banana seems better at.<\/p>\n

Realism<\/p>\n

If I upload a picture of myself (I used the one down below in my profile), then ask Gemini Flash 2.5 to put me on a mountain, I get a picture that actually looks like me, on a mountain:<\/p>\n

\n

\"Me\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Google Gemini)<\/p>\n

Whereas ChatGPT makes an image that looks like an AI approximation of me (it doesn\u2019t help that it\u2019s clearly added a few pounds!):<\/p>\n

\n

\"Me\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Open AI)<\/p>\n

Not only am I fatter, but the image looks less real.<\/p>\n

Combining images<\/p>\n

Nano Banana can combine images together in a realistic way. For example, I uploaded the image of myself and some fence panels I put up at the weekend and asked Gemini to combine them together, while keeping the background image the same. In Gemini’s version, the background picture hasn’t changed at all, it’s just added me into it:<\/p>\n

\n

\"Google\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Google Gemini)<\/p>\n

In contrast, even though I asked ChatGPT to keep the background the same, it reproduced a version of the background that was similar to the original, but with differences I could pick out.<\/p>\n

Not to mention that its version of me looked obviously made by AI. You could say that the ChatGPT image had better framing as a picture, but it didn’t look as realistic.<\/p>\n

\n

\"ChatGPT\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: OpenAI)One clear winner<\/p>\n

For me Gemini is now more useful than ChatGPT for creating images that look real. And I think that\u2019s what most people want AI images to be. All this is without mentioning one of the best things about Nano Banana in Gemini, which it that it’s fast.<\/p>\n

It normally takes Gemini up to ten seconds to generate an image, whereas it can take ChatGPT up to a minute to make an image. That’s a lot of waiting around.<\/p>\n

Of course, dedicated image creation tools like Midjourney will still be king of AI image generation for professionals, but you need to pay to use those. If want something that’s very quick and gets the job done in the most realistic way possible, then for me, Gemini’s Nano Banana is the clear winner.<\/p>\n

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