Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
In its never-ending quest to defeat OpenAI, Google is trying all sorts of tactics to get people to switch from ChatGPT to Gemini. One of its best weapons in this fight is Nano Banana, Google’s AI image generation and editing model. It went insanely viral after launch, so Google has leaned hard on it, promoting it on as many platforms as possible. To maintain this momentum, Google has launched Nano Banana Pro, a significantly improved version of its AI image model. I had the opportunity to test this new model prior to launch, and I think it’s going to become a Photoshop replacement for image editing beginners like myself.
I’ve been using the original Nano Banana for a variety of things since it launched in late August. From modifying our existing stock images to seamlessly add new text, to generating eye-catching thumbnails for our Authority Insights Podcast, Nano Banana has been an immensely useful tool for my work. There’s no doubt that it does an incredible job at creating and modifying images — it wouldn’t have gone viral if it was terrible, after all.
But what you may not know without trying Nano Banana yourself is that it can sometimes be incredibly frustrating to work with. It often misses important details or misinterprets your prompt entirely, forcing you to start over. Asking it to make changes in a follow-up is often a waste of time because it tends to repeat the same edit, as if it’s banging its digital head against a wall. And if you need it to generate an image that isn’t a 1:1 square? Good luck.
Nano Banana Pro addresses nearly all these issues. It does a much better job at understanding your initial prompt, can actually handle requests for additional edits, and can finally create images in 16:9 and other aspect ratios. This is because it’s built on the new Gemini 3 Pro model, which is capable of reasoning. In contrast, the original Nano Banana is built on Gemini 2.5 Flash (which is why its official name is Gemini 2.5 Flash Image). Building it on top of a reasoning model makes a world of difference in how it understands prompts, transforming Nano Banana from a nifty but sometimes annoying tool into a genuine AI image assistant.
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority Prompt: Make a realistic image of a bowl of Fruit Loops spelling out "Nano Banana Pro."
Here are several examples of images I created using Nano Banana Pro so you can get a feel for what it’s like and why I’m calling it an AI Photoshop for beginners.
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Making memes: How Nano Banana Pro lets beginners join in on the fun Now, I know what some of you are thinking: AI can’t make memes! You’re right; memes are made by people. But part of what defines a meme is the act of sharing it widely and, often, remixing it to fit a specific subculture or reference. While meme generator templates make simple edits easy, other memes require more effort to adapt. You need a certain level of Photoshop proficiency to mold images to fit specific formats — skills that many people, myself included, lack. So, we sit on the sidelines, admiring the high-effort edits others create, wishing we could participate without sinking dozens of hours into learning Photoshop just to make a joke.
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