Nano Banana: Google Gemini knocks ChatGPT off the App Store throne
Google's AI image model Gemini 2.5 Flash Image dethrones OpenAI's ChatGPT in the App Store. However, this comes with some unpleasant side effects.
Example of image editing with Nano Banana
(Image: Google)
For a long time, OpenAI led the App Store charts in the productivity category with its AI app ChatGPT. This went so far that competitor xAI even feared that Apple was not treating AI providers fairly and filed a lawsuit. Now Google has taken the top spot with its AI app Gemini. The reason for this is a new image model with the project name Nano Banana, which is causing a stir, especially on social media. But beware: there are also many fake apps in the App Store that want to capitalize on the hype.
Nano Banana, which is included in the 2.5 Flash model as Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, has three strengths that are particularly popular with its users. The first is that the model depicts people very accurately. The facial features and identifying characteristics of people in uploaded photos are transferred realistically into the AI edits. Second, Nano Banana has quite good speech comprehension, which makes it easier for users to implement motif requests. And third, the model is appreciated for its ability to combine multiple images into one motif. For example, two people from separate images can be combined into a group photo.
Perfect for fun pictures
These capabilities can be used to create fun pictures and fake photos. Google accompanied the launch with a mysterious campaign, where it was not initially clear who was behind the model. The model is also very fast at creating images. Created photos are marked with an invisible SynthID watermark to make them identifiable as AI images. Nevertheless, comments express concern that the model could make deepfakes even easier and more socially acceptable because they are so easy and realistic to create.
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However, its success also has a downside when it comes to the App Store. Businesspeople sense an opportunity to make quick money. A search for "Nano Banana" currently brings up a number of apps of dubious origin that allude to AI image processing. In our random sample, we found apps that want to persuade users to pay up to 70 euros per month via in-app purchases. In reality, there is no standalone Nano Banana app; the feature is part of Google's Gemini app.
(mki)
