Key Takeaways
- AI-Powered Photo Editing Comes To Google Messages
- A new Remix feature will give you creative control
- The Nano Banana-powered feature may come with daily limits
Google is bringing its popular Nano Banana AI image editor to Google Messages, following its recent integration into Search, Google Photos and NotebookLM. Google Messages includes a long list of fun and creative ways to communicate, including photomojis, stickers and reaction effects. Nano Banana will take this a step further by adding AI-powered image editing directly within conversations.
Having enabled unreleased code in the latest Google Messages app, a recent report from Android Authority confirms that Google is expanding Nano Banana to Google Messages and reveals how the new features could work.
According to the report, Google Messages will soon introduce a “Remix” feature, allowing you to transform images with Nano Banana before sending them. You can also apply the feature to any existing image in your conversation. With Nano Banana directly available within the Messages app, you’ll be able to stay in your conversation without having to switch apps to edit images.
The new feature, which is yet to roll out to users, will appear whenever you select an image in Google Messages with a long press. This will reveal a new “Remix” button, marked with the now-familiar yellow banana icon, that you can tap to enter Remix mode.
On first use, it will prompt you to agree to Google’s terms of service. This also serves as a reminder that any edits made with Nano Banana will be processed in the cloud, requiring image uploads to Google’s servers. Don’t use Remix to edit anything containing sensitive information or that violates Google’s Prohibited Use Policy. Google states that images are handled in accordance with its Privacy Policy, but users have already expressed concerns.
Once in Remix mode, you can describe any desired edits in a text box or select from a range of automatically-generated suggestions like “become a 70s disco star,” or “become a figurine.” You can keep remixing your image multiple times until you’re happy with the results. However, Nano Banana is useful for much more than just whimsical transformations. You can also put it to practical uses, such as fixing blurry or poorly-lit images.
Google Messages: Remix Feature Limitations
Currently, Remix forces you to start with an image rather than generating an entirely new picture from a text prompt. However, the same effect could be achieved by using any image as a starting point and typing a prompt starting with something like “replace this image with…”
The report suggests that Remix currently supports only one image at a time. A key strength of Nano Banana is its ability to combine elements from multiple pictures or to transfer objects and styles from one image to another. This could leave users having to switch to an external app to complete more complex Nano Banana edits.
Furthermore, text in the app code reveals potential daily limits on the number of Remixes available, though it’s unclear whether these Nano Banana limits will be universal or perhaps based on the user’s Google One subscription plan.
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