Release2 sources223 comments in the community
Introducing Images 2.6
OpenAI News ·
Images 2.6 brings faster image generation, GIF creation, more precise editing, and new API controls across ChatGPT, Codex, and the API.
The Brief
- OpenAI announced Images 2.6 on 2026-11-04, adding faster image generation, GIF creation, more precise editing and new API controls.
- The release spans ChatGPT, Codex and the API.
- A commenter quoting the blog post says it is available globally in ChatGPT and Codex across all subscription tiers on desktop, mobile and web.
Why it matters
Developers using the image API get new controls and native GIF output, but one commenter reports noticeably higher token usage at low and medium quality, which affects cost.
Who’s affected
- Developers using the OpenAI image API
- Codex users
- ChatGPT users who generate images
What to do
- If you use low or medium quality settings, recalculate your image costs against the 2.6 token usage, since a commenter reports about a fourfold increase at 1024x1024.
- Images 2.6
- #image-generation
- #openai
- #gif
- #api
- #codex
- #chatgpt
What developers are saying
Based on 223 comments · Mixed reactions
Commenters on Hacker News are mostly skeptical. Many report visible artifacts and watermarks, some prefer the older 2.5 model, and one reports token costs rising at low and medium quality. Others find the native GIF generation surprisingly capable and are interested in the SVG output, though several note that Codex did not yet support GIFs.
- Visual artifacts and quality25%
- Native GIF generation20%
- Comparison with version 2.515%
- Codex rollout gaps10%
- Token pricing changes8%
- SVG output interest7%
In favour
- + Native GIF generation works better than some commenters expected
- + SVG output is an interesting new capability
- + One commenter finds the 2.6-sunburst variant solid
Concerns
- − Visible artifacts and watermarking remain
- − One commenter found 2.5 scores higher than 2.6 and rolled back
- − Token usage reportedly quadruples at low and medium quality
- − Codex could not generate GIFs at the time of the post
- − Shared GIFs on mobile link to ChatGPT.com, which one commenter sees as a sleazy pattern
“2.5 is better than 2.6”
“Still has the gross artifacts (visible watermarking) that the other GPT-Image-2.* has.”
“Decided to try out one of the new features in GPT Image 2.6: the ability to natively generate animated GIF files.”
Timeline
OpenAI announces Images 2.6 with faster generation, GIF creation, more precise editing and new API controls
OpenAI News
Introducing Images 2.6
Hacker News: Front Page
Images 2.6
Hacker News
377 points · 223 comments
Full coverage · 2 sources
- 2d ago ↗
Hacker News: Front Page
Images 2.6 - 3d ago ↗
OpenAI News
Introducing Images 2.6