Google Nano Banana: From viral codename to AI flagship

Around November 20, 2025, Google launched the global rollout of Nano Banana Pro. This model represents a significant technological leap and directly targets competitors like MidJourney and Adobe Firefly.

Key Features at a Glance:

• Professional Image Control: Unlike the standard version, which often produces random results, the Pro version allows precise adjustments (“fine-tuning”) for lighting, depth of field, camera angle (e.g., “low angle”), and color grading.
• Text Rendering: One of the biggest weaknesses of previous image AI has been addressed. Nano Banana Pro can integrate correct, legible text into images—ideal for posters, infographics, or marketing materials. It supports multiple languages.
• Character Consistency: Users can upload up to 14 reference images. The model is able to maintain a character’s appearance (face, clothing) across multiple generated images, which is essential for storyboards or comics.
• High Resolution: While the standard model is often limited to 1024×1024 pixels, the Pro version supports native 2K and 4K output.
• Real-Time Data: By connecting to Google Search, the AI ​​can visualize current events (e.g., “Create a graphic of yesterday’s election results…”).

Google has deeply integrated “Banana” technology into its ecosystem:

Google Messages (Android): A new feature called “Remix” uses the Nano Banana model to redesign or edit sent photos directly in the chat using AI. This is seen as a response to Apple’s “Genmoji.”

Google Workspace: In Google Slides and the video app Google Vids, users can now directly generate presentation slides or video assets.

Gemini App: This is the main access point for most users. Free users have limited access to the Pro model before being downgraded to the standard version.

Security: All generated images contain a SynthID watermark, which is invisible to the human eye but can be detected by software as AI-generated.

Currently (late November 2025), a challenge called “Decade Grid,” primarily created with Nano Banana Pro, is flooding social media. Users upload a selfie and have it displayed in a 4×4 grid in the styles of different decades (from 1880 to 2025). The model’s ability to accurately mimic historical photographic styles (sepia, film grain, 80s flash) is considered a demonstration of Gemini 3’s power.

With “Nano Banana,” Google has achieved a rare feat: A highly complex enterprise AI (Gemini 3) has been made accessible to the masses through a catchy name and viral features (“Remix,” memes). While the name may sound silly, the underlying technology is currently market-leading in the field of multimodal image generation.