GPT Image 2.5: The Two New OpenAI Image Models, Flare and Sunburst, and When to Pick Each

GPT Image 2.5 arrived as two models: Flare, the fast one, for volume and ideas, and Sunburst, the precise one, for edits that keep the same face, the same product and the same label. What is new, how to edit with a brush and in conversation, and how to get a transparent background.

On September 9, 2026 OpenAI released its next image generation, and this time as two models rather than one. The logic is simple: some jobs need many variations fast, and in some jobs no detail may move. GPT Image 2.5 gives each of them its own model.

Flare or Sunburst: When to Pick Each

• Flare: fast and built for volume. Suits brainstorming, testing directions and many variations of the same idea
• Sunburst: precise. Suits edits that must keep the same face, the same product and the same label, such as a new background for a product shot or a small fix to a picture you already like

Worth knowing: A way of working that saves effort: find the direction on Flare, with several images per run, and polish the one you picked on Sunburst.

What Else Is New

• Brush editing: paint the area that may change, and everything else stays as it is
• A background of your choice: auto, opaque or transparent, so a product comes out ready for a store with no background removal afterwards
• A file of your choice: PNG, JPEG or WEBP
• Fixes in conversation: after the first picture you write only what changes, not the whole prompt again
• Up to 16 reference images in one run
• Hebrew text inside the picture comes out right

Sizes, Ratios and Quality

GPT Image 2.5 works in 15 aspect ratios, including extreme ones such as 1:3, 3:1, 21:9 and 9:21 for banners and signs, and there is a custom size too. Resolution is 1K, 2K or 4K, and there are five quality levels, from low to maximum. Each run can ask for one to ten images.

Three Jobs It Does Very Well

• A product picture for a store: the product on a transparent background, then the same product in several scenes, with the label true to the original
• A poster or an ad with Hebrew text: write the text inside quotation marks, exactly as it should appear
• A spot fix: paint with the brush only what needs to change, and write in a sentence what goes there

Keep the bottle, the label and the light exactly as they are. Replace only the background with a sunlit marble kitchen counter, a lemon and a sprig of mint beside the bottle

Questions and Answers

Which model should I pick when I am not sure? When something existing must be kept, Sunburst. When you are looking for an idea, Flare.

Can I get a transparent background? Yes. Choose a transparent background and a format that supports it, such as PNG.

Do the images belong to me? Yes. What is made in your account belongs to you, for personal, business or commercial use.

GPT Image 2.5 on Cadabra AI

On Cadabra AI both models sit in one tile in the Images tab, with the brush, the transparent background, the 16 references and the fixes in conversation. They are on the same balance as every other engine, so a product picture can go on from here to a video, a voice-over or a song. The price is shown before every run, and a generation that fails is refunded automatically. And for anyone starting out: 10 free credits on sign-up, no credit card, at livinginmovie.com/en/start.

Where to go next

• 105 image codes, and here they run
• 61 codes that turn a picture into a clip
• More guides on the blog