MAI Image 2.6 Flash
Released on September 4, 2026
Changes from previous version
Same 2.6 quality stack as MAI Image 2.6, tuned for production speed and lower token rates rather than maximum precision.
Release Summary
Lower-latency sibling of MAI Image 2.6 for high-throughput production. Microsoft says it generates images 2.8x faster than GPT-Image-2-Medium with 72% greater efficiency, at less than half the flagship list price. Azure rates: $1.75/M text input, $2.50/M image input, and $19/M image output. Same multi-reference editing, web grounding, and dynamic aspect ratios as 2.6.
Timeline
September 4, 2026
MAI-Image-2.6-Flash released
Microsoft AI ships the Flash production tier alongside MAI-Image-2.6 in Foundry public preview.