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A colossal armoured sea creature rising out of a storm-lit ocean while a lone robed figure watches from the rocks

GPT Image 2.5 Change One Thing. Keep the Rest.

OpenAI’s precision-editing image model, now in Renoise. Sunburst and Flare.

GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst

What GPT Image 2.5 does, at a glance

OpenAI built the 2.5 release around control rather than resolution: the ceilings stayed put, the restraint improved.

Scoped Edits

Name one thing to change — a product, a background, a line of copy — and the rest survives.

Reference Fidelity

Bring up to 3 reference photos; faces and distinctive details carry into the new scene.

Sunburst or Flare

Both in the picker: Sunburst for precision, Flare for up to 50% lower latency.

1K, 2K or 4K

Eight aspect ratios from square to 21:9, at three output resolutions.

Try in Renoise

How to use GPT Image 2.5 in Renoise

  1. Enter a prompt in the Renoise generation bar
    Step 1

    Describe the image

    Type the scene, style and any exact on-image text in natural language.

  2. Upload a reference image into Renoise
    Step 2

    Add references (optional)

    Upload up to 3 photos and say what to change; anything you do not name is preserved.

  3. Choose an aspect ratio in the Renoise generation bar
    Step 3

    Pick a variant and generate

    Choose Sunburst or Flare in the model picker, set ratio and resolution, then download.

Try in Renoise

What it looks like

Real output from the Renoise image models, plus one of OpenAI’s own launch demos where it makes the point better.

Cabin crew in a white and orange exosuit carrying trays down the aisle of a futuristic airliner filled with human and alien passengers

Crowded scenes hold

A full cabin: faces at three different depths, one light source, and no melted extras in the background.

Two 1980s-style studio portraits side by side, with period clothing, neon backdrop and film-print wear

Faithful to the reference

Two people restyled as 1980s studio portraits from their own photos, with recognisable features intact. Official OpenAI demo images.

Low-angle night portrait of a woman in oversized orange sunglasses and a black coat holding a bright orange can, lit by billboards on a wet city street

Photoreal after dark

Neon, billboard spill and street light landing on skin, nylon and wet asphalt the way each surface should take it.

A plush brown teddy bear standing in a field of oversized pink and white felt flowers under a pale sky, rendered as a soft 3D toy scene

Stylized on request

Ask for a soft 3D toy render and the material stays felt all the way through, instead of drifting back to photography.

Try in Renoise

GPT Image 2.5 release date and what changed

OpenAI released GPT Image 2.5 on September 8, 2026. In ChatGPT it appears as ChatGPT Images 2.5; in the API it ships as two models, GPT-Image-2.5 Flare and GPT-Image-2.5 Sunburst. Flare is the small, fast model with quality OpenAI describes as comparable to GPT Image 2; Sunburst is the base model, higher quality and slower, aimed at workflows where editing precision matters most.

The upgrade is about control. OpenAI’s own list: edits that change only what you asked for, edit instructions that hold across multiple turns, reference photos whose subjects stay recognisable, closer adherence to a requested visual style, more accurate detail in complex layouts, and up to 50% lower latency. Resolution and aspect ratios are unchanged from GPT Image 2, and OpenAI makes no claim about better text rendering.

Renoise carries both variants in the image model picker, ahead of GPT Image 2. Each generates from a prompt or from up to three reference photos, at 1K, 2K or 4K across eight aspect ratios, billed per generation from your plan credits. GPT Image 2 stays available, and it is still what the Erase, Inpaint and Expand tools run on.

Sep 8, 2026

Official release

ChatGPT Images 2.5 rolls out to all ChatGPT tiers; Flare and Sunburst land in the Images API the same day.

Sep 8, 2026

Two variants, one release

OpenAI splits the model in the API: Sunburst for editing precision, Flare for fast everyday generation.

Sep 11, 2026

GPT Image 2.5 in Renoise

Sunburst and Flare both join the Renoise image model picker, ahead of GPT Image 2, at 1K / 2K / 4K.

GPT Image 2.5 vs. GPT Image 2

Both models are in the Renoise picker. They are different tools, not an upgrade path — the older one is not being retired.

In RenoiseGPT Image 2.5 (Recommended)GPT Image 2
Editing behaviourChanges only what you name; holds across turnsBaseline; can drift over rounds
Reference imagesUp to 3 per generationUp to 16 fused in one generation
VariantsSunburst (precision) and Flare (speed)One entry
Output1K / 2K / 4K, 8 aspect ratios1K / 2K / 4K, 8 aspect ratios
Erase, Inpaint, Expand—Powers all three tools
Pick it whenYou want the newest OpenAI model or a precise editYou need many references, or the edit tools
Try in Renoise

Choose your plan

Unlock GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst, Flare and every other model on one Renoise plan.

Starter

30% OFF

For first-time AI content creators

$20$14/mo

Billed $168 annually

Upgrade Plan

Save $72/year

1,200 credits released monthly
✓
No Unlimited generation
✓
Unlimited Concurrent Generations
✓
Renoise Agent Beta
✓
Unlimited LLM Chats
✓
Commercial Use
✓
Watermark-free exports

Standard

30% OFF

For creators shipping content every week.

$60$42/mo

Billed $504 annually

Upgrade Plan

Save $216/year

3,600 credits released monthly
✓
2 days of Unlimited each month
Unlimited models:
Hailuo H3 (768p)
Seedance 2.0 Mini (480p, 720p)
Seedream 5.0 Pro (1k)
Seedream 5.0 Lite
✓
Unlimited Concurrent Generations
✓
Renoise Agent Beta
✓
Unlimited LLM Chats
✓
Commercial Use
✓
Watermark-free exports
Best Value

Advanced

30% OFF

For studios and pros producing at commercial scale.

$200$140/mo

Billed $1680 annually

Upgrade Plan

Save $720/year

14,000 credits released monthly
✓
7 days of Unlimited each month
Unlimited models:
Hailuo H3 (768p)
Seedance 2.0 Mini (480p, 720p)
Seedream 5.0 Pro (1k)
Seedream 5.0 Lite
✓
Unlimited Concurrent Generations
✓
Renoise Agent Beta
✓
Unlimited LLM Chats
✓
Commercial Use
✓
Watermark-free exports

Renews automatically each year until canceled.

FAQ

1.Is GPT Image 2.5 out yet?

Yes. OpenAI released it on September 8, 2026, as ChatGPT Images 2.5 in ChatGPT and as GPT-Image-2.5 Flare and Sunburst in the API. In Renoise, both variants are entries in the image model picker.

2.What is the difference between Flare and Sunburst?

Flare is the small, fast model, with image quality OpenAI describes as comparable to GPT Image 2 at up to 50% lower latency. Sunburst is the base model: higher quality than GPT Image 2, longer generation times, built for edits where precision matters most. Renoise lists Sunburst first, and both cost the same.

3.What is new in GPT Image 2.5?

Control. Edits change only what you asked for and hold across multiple turns, reference-photo subjects stay recognisable, visual styles are followed more closely, complex layouts come out more accurate, and generation is up to 50% faster. Resolution limits did not change.

4.Does GPT Image 2.5 render text better?

OpenAI makes no such claim. The announcement says nothing about text rendering, and the developer docs still list precise text placement as a limitation for GPT Image models. Short headlines are reliable; dense copy still needs checking. For text-heavy work, Nano Banana Pro is the stronger pick in Renoise.

5.What resolution does GPT Image 2.5 support?

In Renoise you choose 1K, 2K or 4K across eight aspect ratios, from 1:1 to 21:9. OpenAI’s API caps either side at 3840 pixels and the whole image at 8.3 megapixels, and flags anything above 2560 × 1440 as experimental.

6.How many reference images can I upload?

Up to 3 per generation in Renoise, for either variant. OpenAI’s own API accepts up to 16, and so does the GPT Image 2 entry in Renoise — so if your job is fusing a large reference set rather than editing one image, pick GPT Image 2.

7.Can I use GPT Image 2.5 to erase objects or inpaint?

Not through the dedicated tools. Renoise’s Erase, Inpaint and Expand tools run on GPT Image 2. GPT Image 2.5 edits by instruction instead: upload the photo, describe the one thing to change, and it leaves the rest alone.

8.How much does GPT Image 2.5 cost?

In OpenAI’s API the per-token rate is identical to GPT Image 2 ($8 input, $30 output per million image tokens), but a 1024 × 1024 image at high quality costs about $0.053 instead of $0.21, because the quality tiers were re-mapped. In Renoise you spend plan credits per generation, priced by resolution, with no daily caps.

9.Is GPT Image 2 being retired?

No. OpenAI’s deprecations page lists no shutdown date for gpt-image-2, and it is still the recommended replacement for older GPT Image models. In Renoise it stays in the picker alongside both 2.5 variants, and it remains the model behind the image-edit tools.

10.Who makes GPT Image 2.5?

OpenAI. Renoise integrates it alongside Nano Banana Pro, Seedream 5.0, Midjourney and Grok Imagine on one plan; Renoise does not train image models itself.

Make your next edit with GPT Image 2.5.

Upload a photo, say what to change, keep everything else. One plan, every model.

Try GPT Image 2.5See plans
By Max, RenoiseLast reviewed Models verified: GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst, GPT Image 2.5 Flare, GPT Image 2

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