Midjourney has died for the 27th time, yet somehow it keeps coming back to life. The latest model supposedly killing it? FLUX 1.1 Pro from Black Forest Labs.
FLUX 1.1 Pro is an upgrade that’s actually worth talking about. It’s cheaper than FLUX Dev and delivers higher quality images than FLUX Pro. The prompt adherence isn’t quite on Ideogram’s level, so I’m not switching my APIs over just yet. But if Ideogram didn’t exist, I’d use FLUX 1.1 Pro in a heartbeat.
Let’s break down what makes this release interesting:
1. Speed and Quality: FLUX 1.1 Pro generates images six times faster than its predecessor. It also improves image quality, prompt adherence, and diversity. This means you get better, more accurate images faster.
2. Competitive Pricing: At 4 cents per image, it’s one of the cheapest high-quality image models available. That’s even cheaper than the previous FLUX Pro at 5 cents per image.
3. Availability: You can access FLUX 1.1 Pro through Freepik, Together.ai, Replicate, and Fal.ai. Freepik is offering it free to all users until the weekend, after which it’ll be for paying subscribers only.
4. Performance: Under its codename “Blueberry,” FLUX 1.1 Pro topped the Artificial Analysis image arena, beating out other leading models in visual fidelity and accuracy.
5. Future Releases: Black Forest Labs plans to release FLUX 1.1 Dev and 1.1 Schnell soon. These will likely be open source, following the pattern of their predecessors.
6. BFL API: The beta launch of the Black Forest Labs API offers advanced customization for model selection, image resolution, and content moderation. It’s scalable for both small projects and enterprise applications.
While FLUX 1.1 Pro is impressive, it’s not the Midjourney killer some claim it to be. It’s a strong contender in the AI image generation space, but Midjourney still holds its ground in certain areas.
If you’re interested in diving deeper into the world of AI image generation, check out my post on Ideogram 2.0 Turbo, which offers even better text rendering and image quality than FLUX.
FLUX 1.1 Pro is a step forward in AI image generation. It’s cheaper, faster, and produces high-quality images. While it might not be the end of Midjourney, it’s definitely worth considering for your AI image needs. As the field continues to advance, we’ll see more models pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in AI-generated imagery.
