What changed on November 4, 2026

OpenAI published Images 2.6 on November 4, 2026. It is in ChatGPT and Codex, and in the API as two models: Flare for fast iteration and Sunburst for detailed work and edits. The announcement says generation is about 50% faster, and that Flare at low quality can return a draft in about six seconds.

Three capabilities are new. Animated GIF output turns a prompt into a short loop. SVG output writes vectors for logos, icons, and flat illustrations. Complexity, set to low, medium, or high, changes how much the model plans before it renders. Quality is still a separate dial. Complexity has no extra fee, and both models default to high if you omit it.

Markup edits are part of the API story too. They are documented for the 2.5 models and for this release: a mark on the first image shows where to change, and the prompt says what should happen. GIF and SVG generation do not take that edit path.

Image output is priced at $30 per million tokens on this release. The 2.5 models use the same image-output rate, and version 2 shares that per-token output price. Equal rates do not mean equal invoices. A busier frame can spend more tokens. 2.5 and this release offer quality from low through max. Version 2 stops at high.

This studio exposes Image, GIF, and SVG, Flare and Sunburst, aspect ratio, 1K or 2K, quality through high, complexity, and reference images. Every successful run costs 20 credits. The first 40 credits are free, which is 2 generations.