CNET’s expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise.
8.0 / 10
SCORE Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image) Pros First-in-industry legible text in AI images
Excels at realistic and creative styles
Wide knowledge base helps make realistic images Cons Factual errors like a chatbot
Thinking model takes longer to generate
You can't talk about AI image generation without including Google's nano banana models, for good reason. The two versions, the original (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) and the new pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image), have only been around for a couple of months, but they've quickly redefined what's possible with AI image generation and editing.
The pro version uses Gemini 3's reasoning model to power results. That means it takes a little bit longer to generate, but the images are more detailed. You can also add swaths of legible text to your images, an industry first. The pro version is the best AI image generation tool CNET has ever tested, hands down. But that isn't necessarily a good thing.
Our testing revealed how easy it is to create ultrarealistic images and infographics with wrong information. The Gemini-made images lacked many of the most common errors in AI-generated images, which is good for creators. Yet it also means that anyone who comes across the Gemini-created images online will have a harder time deciphering if they're real or AI. Google removes the sparkle-shaped watermark from some images, which doesn't help. Although Google's SynthID or invisible watermark is embedded in all AI-generated images, the detector technology in Gemini is too limited to make a difference. These aren't new problems, but nano banana pro's capabilities make them even more prevalent and difficult to solve.
Whether you use nano banana through Gemini or take advantage of more settings in Google's AI Studio or Flow, it's easy to use the model to create. Here's everything you need to know about nano banana pro based on our testing. For more, check out the best AI image generators and our AI essentials.
... continue reading