GPT Image 2.5 Tops Image Arena, but Old Prompts Cause Artifacts, User Ablations Find

altryne · x · 2026-09-12

Per Artificial Analysis' Image Arena, OpenAI's new GPT Image 2.5 (Flare/Sunburst) takes the top two spots, generating higher-quality images in less than half the time of GPT Image 2 at the same price.

User altryne re-ran thumbnail ablations and confirmed GPT Image 2.5 beats Nano Banana, his previous winner — but warns that his old prompting style made GPT images "overcook" thumbnails with artifacts, so users should adjust prior prompts before judging the new model.

Related event: OpenAI's GPT Image 2.5 Tops Image Arena with Halved Latency(3 posts)→

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