GPT-Image-2.6 Flare and Sunburst Land in the API

OpenAI Developers says GPT-Image-2.6, the newest version of OpenAI's image model, is now available in the API and in Codex, OpenAI's coding agent, as two models called Flare and Sunburst. The pairing carries over from the last release. When OpenAI shipped ChatGPT Images 2.5 in September it also released `gpt-image-2.5-flare` and `gpt-image-2.5-sunburst`, advising, in guidance quoted by Simon Willison, Sunburst where editing precision matters most and Flare for fast everyday generation. In the 2.6 announcement, OpenAI says both new models generate images 50% faster than before, and that Sunburst, at medium or high quality, keeps details more consistent from one edit to the next.

That consistency claim is about a common way developers use an image API: generate a picture, ask for a change, then ask for another. Details the developer did not ask to change can shift between versions. OpenAI is saying Sunburst keeps them steadier across those rounds; it gives no measurement of how much.

The launch video, read here from an automatic transcript, adds API features that the written post does not mention. A markup feature lets a developer send a second image, such as a copy with an area circled or annotated, along with a description of the change, so the model knows where to edit. The API can also produce SVG files, vector graphics that scale to any size without blurring, which OpenAI pitches for icons and illustrations that must work at different sizes and match brand colors. For GIFs, a developer describes a scene and a small movement; a sprite sheet captures the poses, and its frames are automatically extracted and stitched into a looping animation. OpenAI also says developers get more control over dense infographics and complex prompts, cases where it is worth waiting longer for the details.

The post does not say what the 50% speed gain is measured against beyond "before", or at which quality settings, and it gives no prices. The video sends developers to OpenAI's documentation for the new parameters. On the consumer side, OpenAI's ChatGPT announcement brings the same release to ChatGPT as Images 2.6, with GIFs and reference images.