Flux, the AI generation model from Black Forest Labs, is one of the best AI image generators, particularly because it’s open source and so is widely available. Now, there is a new version — and it has taken things to a new level.
Flux 1.1 Pro offers improved realism and significantly faster image creation than previous versions of Flux Pro. In my tests, I found the pro model as fast as generating lower-resolution images with Schnell, the smallest of the Flux models.
Initially, Freepik will be the only generation platform with access to Flux 1.1 Pro although it will also be available through API calls from other providers. To mark the launch Freepik is making the new model accessible to free users until the weekend.
According to Black Forest Labs, Flux 1.1 Pro provides six times faster generation than its predecessor while also improving image quality, prompt adherence and diversity.
How does Flux 1.1 Pro compare?
Previously dubbed ‘"Blueberry mode" in user ranking tests, where people have to vote between two images made using the same prompt, this new model outperforms the previous generation of Flux 1 Pro, Ideogram 2 and Midjourney 6.1 — topping the leaderboard.
I was given early access to Flux 1.1 Pro and during my testing I found the new model was much better at following a descriptive prompt, reducing the need to use "AI enhancement" for prompts in the Freepik platform. The images generated also looked more natural but there were some issues around generating faces if multiple people were in the frame.
The better prompt adherence also leads to a more literal outcome, so if you want to capture a smartphone-style photograph, for example, you are better off specifying the phone model and camera type than just saying ‘smartphone photo of…’
In one example I generated an image of a group of friends taking a selfie with a smartphone and the first version had several phones with people capturing their own image within the frame, rather than one person taking an image of everyone.
I did find that the speed improvements led to a drop in the impressive levels of photorealism compared to Flux 1 Pro, but that might just be a case of needing some fine-tuning.
Where will I be able to use Flux 1.1 Pro?
Black Forest Labs makes new models widely available. The exception is the Pro versions, which are largely restricted to AI platforms due to the hardware requirements to run the model. This should still be the case with Flux 1.1 Pro, but you will likely find it on many platforms.
Freepik will have Flux 1.1 Pro as part of its AI image service. It will be free initially but after Friday night it will only be available to paying subscribers. You will likely also find Flux 1.1 Pro on API-like platforms such as FAL and eventually on services like Poe, HuggingChat and NightCafe.
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