MAI-Image-2 vs GPT Image 1.5 vs Nano Banana 2: March 2026

MAI-Image-2, GPT Image 1.5, and Nano Banana 2 are hosted image models from Microsoft, OpenAI, and Google respectively. All were available through announced services by March 2026, with different routes for browser users and developers. Compare them by the task you need: text-to-image generation, editing an uploaded picture, or integrating a hosted API. Microsoft launch OpenAI launch Google launch

What are the key facts about these March 2026 image models?

The table records each model's launch announcement, all published by March 2026. Its access entries describe launch-time availability; use the current documentation when planning a new integration.

Which tasks suit MAI-Image-2, GPT Image 1.5, and Nano Banana 2?

Microsoft's announcement emphasizes photographic scenes, text inside images, and detailed compositions. Those capabilities suggest testing portraits, posters, and scenes with a clear visual brief. They do not establish that every generated label or facial feature will be correct. Microsoft launch

OpenAI's GPT Image 1.5 release emphasizes instruction following and editing that retains important characteristics of an uploaded picture. Its examples include changing appearance and transforming styles. A useful test is to request a specific change while listing what should remain fixed. OpenAI launch

Google's Nano Banana 2 announcement highlights image creation and editing, text rendering, and grounding with web information. For an evaluation, separate a visual brief from a task that depends on factual knowledge; success at one does not answer the other. Google launch

For all three, prepare your own small assignment before looking at outputs. An imagined bookshop announcement works well as a starting exercise: a storefront, a prominent event sign, and room for supporting copy. Write the required words separately so you can check spelling without relying on memory.

What access and image-quality limits should you check?

The launch access paths were different. Microsoft described its API as available to selected customers and broader developer access as forthcoming. A model appearing in a browser playground therefore did not establish general API availability at that time. Microsoft launch

OpenAI's image-generation guide documents possible problems with exact text placement, recurring visual identity, and structured composition. Those are useful acceptance checks even when the model follows the broad idea of a prompt. API guide

The cited launch posts do not provide a shared test protocol for latency or memory requirements. Do not combine a hosted response time with a local GPU measurement into a single speed table. For a useful comparison, measure the same task from submission to downloaded result and record the selected endpoint and output settings.

Record the model identifier with every result. OpenAI lists gpt-image-1.5-2025-12-16 as a dated snapshot, but has deprecated GPT Image 1.5 and scheduled its API shutdown for December 1, 2026. The example below is a time-limited way to test that historical model. Model documentation Deprecation schedule

How do you test these models and identify the version used?

For the historical browser entry points, follow the official launch links to MAI Playground, ChatGPT, or Gemini. Confirm the model currently offered before calling your session a reproduction of a March result. The model collection available today may differ from what the release post announced. Microsoft launch OpenAI launch Google launch

For an explicit GPT Image 1.5 API trial, install the OpenAI Python package and set OPENAI_API_KEY for an account with API access. This example uses the documented snapshot and saves the returned image data to a file. Model documentation API guide

import base64
from pathlib import Path
from openai import OpenAI

result = OpenAI().images.generate(
    model="gpt-image-1.5-2025-12-16",
    prompt="A bookshop window with a clear sign reading BOOK NIGHT.",
)
Path("bookshop.png").write_bytes(base64.b64decode(result.data[0].b64_json))

Keep the first evaluation narrow. Ask each candidate for a bookshop window, the same short sign, and the same broad framing. Review whether the storefront reads clearly and whether the exact requested words appear. Record the failed requirements alongside the successful ones.

Then create a separate editing exercise for services that document image editing. Start with the same reference and ask for one change, such as replacing the sign text while keeping the window arrangement. Do not pool those results with text-to-image results: an edit starts with information that a fresh generation does not receive.

Give each candidate the same opportunity to revise. If one receives a carefully rewritten prompt after several failures, provide a comparable revision opportunity to the others. Save the initial outputs so you can distinguish first-attempt usefulness from usefulness after guidance.

Finally, judge the accepted asset in its intended setting. A poster needs readable type at viewing distance; a background illustration needs space for interface content. Let those requirements decide the result of your trial.

How should you compare generation, editing, and API access?

For Google's broader image family, see the sibling Nano Banana Pro guide. For a different deployment requirement, the ComfyUI guide explains how to approach a local workflow.

What should you know about the March 2026 comparison?

Which model was best in March 2026?

The cited launch announcements do not establish one shared quality ranking for MAI-Image-2, GPT Image 1.5, and Nano Banana 2. Choose a specific task and compare accepted outputs, revision effort, and the access your project requires. Microsoft launch OpenAI launch Google launch

Was MAI-Image-2 publicly downloadable?

MAI-Image-2 launched through Microsoft's hosted playground and an API for selected customers. Microsoft did not provide an open-weight MAI-Image-2 download in that announcement. Microsoft launch

Is Nano Banana 2 a separate open-source package?

Nano Banana 2 is Google's name for Gemini 3.1 Flash Image. Its release announced hosted product and API access, with no open-weight download. Google launch

Can I request a specific GPT Image 1.5 version?

OpenAI lists gpt-image-1.5-2025-12-16 as a GPT Image 1.5 snapshot. Its model family is deprecated and scheduled to leave the API on December 1, 2026, so account for that deadline when planning a reproduction. Model documentation Deprecation schedule

Sources

• Microsoft's MAI-Image-2 announcement
• OpenAI's GPT Image 1.5 announcement
• Google's Nano Banana 2 announcement
• GPT Image 1.5 model documentation
• OpenAI image-generation guide
• OpenAI model deprecation schedule

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