It's been three whole months since Google dropped its latest AI image model, so given the breakneck pace of AI development, we were overdue. Google delivered, with Nano Banana 2, released in late February.
At first glance, not much had changed from Google's previous models. Google said the second-generation model would have the speed of the original model but the benefit of the pro's (and Gemini 3's) world knowledge for more realistic outputs. As CNET's creative AI expert, I had to put the new model through its paces. Nano Banana Pro, after all, is our best overall pick among a crowded field of AI image tools -- even if it did make me wonder if AI tools have gotten too good.
After my testing, I found that Google was mostly right. Nano Banana 2 was a speedy companion and reminded me why Google is still one of the biggest beasts in the AI game. But I did find cracks in its performance, proving there's still room for improvement.
This is how Nano Banana 2 fared against the original and the pro model. A note about process: I limited my testing to photo editing, since that is one of the biggest use-cases for Nano Banana. You can use it to create entirely AI-generated images, though.
Nano Banana 2: Photo editing
I have had an ongoing, definitely one-sided feud with Gemini over its inability to fix this photo I shot last year of the Freakier Friday movie poster. The dying evening sunlight hit the glass, covering the sign at just the right angle to obscure a good chunk of the poster. Nano Banana 1 outright failed at this task. The vamped-up pro model didn't fare much better. So, I had to see if Nano Banana 2 was up to the challenge. Spoiler: It wasn't.
AI couldn't solve my reflection issue, no matter the model. Nano Banana 1 (left), Nano Banana 2 (center) and Nano Banana Pro (right). Created by Katelyn Chedraoui using Gemini AI
Look, clearly, this was just a bad photograph by me, human error all around. Reflections are notoriously hard to remove in editing. But one of the main selling points of creative AI is that it can take your bad photos and fix those human errors with technology. It clearly can't do that in the worst-case scenario, which is disappointing.
In a not worst-case scenario, though, Nano Banana 2 does a decent job of removing smaller, less destructive reflections in CNET senior social media manager Allyza Umali's glasses.
Notice how both reflections in Allyza's lens were removed by AI. Original photo courtesy of Allyza Umali (left); Created by Katelyn Chedraoui using Gemini AI (right)
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