Choose the right image quality after Grok's change

Compare one image your app needs to get right

If you are building or buying an app that creates images with Grok, ask for a sample of its output after today's service change. Use a familiar request, then check the detail people need and the price of producing it. If your app also edits existing images, test that separately.

This is a change to the xAI API, the connection a custom app uses to request an image. It affects apps using particular older model names. Check that name with your builder before deciding whether any work is needed.

Read the announcement: xAI: November 2 image quality retirement and redirect rules.

What takes effect on November 2

The service called grok-imagine-image-quality retires on November 2, 2026, following a notice period that began September 2. Requests to the older name are now redirected to grok-imagine-image-2.0 with its quality setting fixed at low. The older grok-imagine-image-pro name follows the same route.

xAI says the old connection will continue to accept requests, so the change should not require a code update simply to keep connecting. The original grok-imagine-image 1.0 service is unaffected.

A working connection does not tell you whether the new images suit your app. Check small details, any required wording and how the result looks at the size people will actually use.

Choose the setting instead of inheriting it

Using the new 2.0 model name directly lets your builder choose low or medium quality. xAI describes medium as spending more computing effort on finer detail. Try both on the job your app needs to do before paying for the higher setting.

There is a difference worth checking during the update. If no quality setting is supplied directly to the new model, it uses auto. That currently means low for creating a new image, but medium for editing an existing one. Billing follows the quality served.

Ask your builder to make that choice explicit. The automatic redirect from the older service uses low for both jobs; using the new name without choosing a setting can change the cost of editing.

Include the source image in the cost

For the smallest listed output size, labelled 1K, the 2.0 service costs $0.04 at low quality and $0.06 at medium. Supplying an image to edit adds $0.01 per input image. Larger output sizes have different rates.

For example, an edit at that size using one source image would cost $0.05 at low quality or $0.07 at medium under the listed rates. The replacement output at the low setting is $0.01 cheaper than the retired quality service at each listed size. Compare the full job rather than the output price alone.

These are the provider's listed US dollar charges. The price you pay through an app or another service may differ.

Practise a small review you can repeat

Use sample material you have permission to use and keep a short record of the results.

1. Confirm the model name in the app and the version shown in its returned records.
2. Try one new image and one edit at each quality you are considering.
3. Check the useful details and record the complete cost, including source images.
4. Agree which setting people should receive, then repeat the check after the update.

Build a clear choice into the experience

Our perspective is that an image feature should make its cost and purpose easy to understand. A quick preview and a finished image can have different needs. Learning to judge those needs, and explain the choice to your builder, helps you spend on the result your customers actually want.