AI Weekly Malaysia

OpenAI released Images 2.6 in ChatGPT, Codex, and the API on November 4, 2026, claiming 50% faster image generation and adding GIF output from still images. The API offers GPT-Image-2.6 Flare, which can generate at low quality in as little as six seconds, and GPT-Image-2.6 Sunburst for higher-quality, more consistent edits at medium or high quality. OpenAI says users create 4 billion images per week, over 500 million per day.

Why: If you call an image-generation API, the concrete decision is whether to use Flare for latency-sensitive drafts, where low quality can return in about six seconds, or Sunburst for final assets that need consistency across edit rounds. The post gives no pricing or independent benchmark data, so test both against your current model before switching. GIF support may remove a separate sprite-sheet step for simple looping animations, but the examples depend on carefully structured prompts.

OpenAI launched Images 2.6 in ChatGPT, Codex, and the API, claiming 50% faster generation and better character/product consistency across edit rounds. The API splits into two models: GPT-Image-2.6 Flare, which can return a low-quality image in as little as six seconds and improves layout for posters and product imagery, and GPT-Image-2.6 Sunburst, aimed at medium/high quality with stronger consistency across edits. It also adds GIF output, with the sample workflow being a 6-frame sprite sheet animated into a seamless loop, and OpenAI says 4 billion images are now created per week across its surfaces.

Why: If you call an image model from the API, you now have a concrete choice to benchmark: Flare at low quality for cheap fast drafts (the 6-second claim) versus Sunburst at medium/high for edit-heavy work where character and product consistency matters. The GIF/sprite-sheet path is the more interesting shift for builders — a 6-frame grid can become a looping animation without a video pipeline, which changes what you can ship for mascots, memes, or storyboards. Treat the 50% and 4-billion-per-week figures as vendor claims and re-run your own prompt set before switching; there is no Malaysia or SEA angle in this announcement.