Grok Imagine 2.0: xAI’s image generator is now second only to OpenAI

xAI has released Grok Imagine Image 2.0, its upgraded AI image generation and editing model, and it is live now as the default Quality Mode on grok.com/imagine and in the Grok iOS and Android apps.

What Grok Imagine Image 2.0 does

The new version is built around editing rather than one-shot generation. A magic wand tool changes only the region you point at; segmentation selects precise areas; background removal exports a subject with a transparent background; and multi-ref editing accepts up to five input images in a single generation. Smart resize recomposes one image to any ratio, from 1:2 banners to 16:9 widescreen, filling in the frame instead of cropping it.

xAI says Image 2.0 plans typography and layout “the way a designer would”, so dense multi-part visuals hold together and small text stays sharp. Fifteen templates package common workflows — photo editing, product shots, headshots, icons, game assets, e-commerce listings — and a “build a world for video” workflow keeps one style across a character, locations and props generated separately.

The ranking is the part competitors will notice. xAI says the model sits second in the world on both the Text-to-Image and Image Edit Arena leaderboards as of 7 August, behind OpenAI’s gpt-image-2, which holds the top spot with a record Elo lead. xAI models are listed on Arena under SpaceXAI. OpenAI’s ChatGPT image upgrade has been the model to chase all year.

API access is coming soon, with developer pricing unannounced; for now this is a consumer product, and Grok’s subscription economics have not changed.

Grok Imagine 2.0 in the UAE

For UAE users, Grok Imagine 2.0 is available through grok.com/imagine and the Grok apps. Fuller access runs on X’s subscription tiers, priced locally: Premium at AED 29 a month (AED 309 a year) and Premium+ at AED 146 a month (AED 1,450 a year), per X’s UAE pricing page. The free tier on grok.com still covers the occasional test generation.