Google Ships Gemini Omni Flash and Nano Banana 2 Lite to Developers
On June 30, 2026, Google DeepMind opened Gemini Omni Flash (conversational video generation and editing) to developers in public preview via AI Studio and the Gemini API, and released Nano Banana 2 Lite (gemini-3.1-flash-lite-image)—its fastest, cheapest Gemini image model—for high-throughput generation at about $0.034 per 1K image and ~4-second latency.
TLDR
Google on June 30, 2026 dual-shipped media models for builders: Gemini Omni Flash (gemini-omni-flash-preview) for video generation and conversational editing, newly available in Google AI Studio, the Gemini API, Enterprise Agent Platform, Gemini app, and Google Flow; and Nano Banana 2 Lite (gemini-3.1-flash-lite-image), the speed/cost tier of the Nano Banana image family, GA for developers and rolling into Search AI Mode, Gemini app, Photos, Ads, and more. Omni Flash video output is priced at $0.10/sec (aligned with Veo 3.1 Fast); Nano Banana 2 Lite targets ~$0.034 per 1K-resolution image and ~4s text-to-image latency.
What Google shipped
From Google’s Keyword primary (“Start building with Nano Banana 2 Lite and Gemini Omni Flash”) and Cloud/API changelogs:
Nano Banana 2 Lite (Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Image)
- Fastest, most cost-efficient image model in the Nano Banana family; recommended upgrade from legacy Nano Banana (gemini-2.5-flash-image).
- Strengths: latency, throughput, prompt adherence, character consistency, legible in-image text.
- Surfaces: AI Studio, Gemini API, Agent Platform; consumer rollouts (Search AI Mode, Gemini app, NotebookLM, Photos, Stitch, Flow, Ads).
Gemini Omni Flash
- Multimodal video generation/editing from text, image, and video inputs; conversational refine loops; Gemini world knowledge for scene construction; text/action sync via prompting.
- Public preview for developers (first broad API access after I/O intro).
- Limits at launch: ~10-second clips (longer coming); API gaps on audio references, scene extension, and short video refs; character consistency still improving on pans/scene changes.
- SynthID watermarking on both models; verification paths via Gemini app/Chrome/Search.
Google demos chaining image → animate with Omni (e.g. Anywhere, Space Lift, Omni product studio) via the Interactions API for multi-turn sessions (up to three sequential edits).
Why this story matters
June 30 was also Anthropic’s Fable restore and Sonnet 5 day. Google’s answer was media developer stack: cheap high-volume images plus API-native conversational video—not another pure text frontier GA. For builders, Omni Flash is the open gate after I/O demos; for Google, it is distribution into AI Studio and consumer Gemini before Gemini 3.5 Pro GA (still delayed into July).
Sources
- Google Keyword: “Start building with Nano Banana 2 Lite and Gemini Omni Flash” (June 30, 2026).
- Google Cloud Blog same-day product post; Gemini API changelog (June 30, 2026).
- Google DeepMind model pages for Omni / Nano Banana family.
Featured Image Alt Text
Gemini Omni Flash video timeline and Nano Banana 2 Lite image grid for June 30 developer launch.
Tags
Google, DeepMind, Gemini Omni Flash, Nano Banana 2 Lite, Video, Image Generation, Gemini API, Multimodal