OpenAI released ChatGPT Images 2.5 on September 8, 2026, cutting image generation latency about 50% versus Images 2.0 while improving photorealism, editing consistency, and adding a Sketch-to-image tool.
Read the full story: OpenAI Ships ChatGPT Images 2.5 With Sharper, Faster Generation →
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OpenAI just shipped ChatGPT Images 2.5, and the headline number is speed. Image generation is about fifty percent faster than the last version. But speed isn't the real story here. This update fixes the thing reviewers kept dinging ChatGPT for. It's better now at keeping a face or a product consistent across multiple edits, and the lighting looks less synthetic. There's a new sketch tool too. You draw a rough shape and the model builds the image around it.
For developers, OpenAI split the API in two. Flare handles fast, high volume jobs. Sunburst is slower, built for tightly controlled production work. The timing isn't random either. Google's Nano Banana Pro had pulled ahead on photorealism. This is OpenAI closing that gap.