Is Photoshop Done? Nano Banana Might Replace It with AI Image Generation

Since Nano Banana’s release on August 26th, 2025, people are saying it could directly compete with Photoshop through AI image generation. Social media has been filled with impressive editing examples – background replacements, object additions, style transformations – that suggest Nano Banana might genuinely challenge traditional photo editing software for certain use cases. But how does it actually perform in reality?

Nano Banana is supposed to handle complex edits through simple text prompts, which would make photo editing significantly more accessible than Photoshop for regular users needing quick but professional-looking results. Instead of learning complicated tools and techniques, you just describe what you want in plain English.

We gathered some of the most popular photo editing use cases from social media and decided to test the same principles on our own photos. Our goal was to see how well Nano Banana actually performs across different editing scenarios, keeping both the successes and failures in our review. These examples show the good and the bad of what you can realistically expect when using Nano Banana for everyday photo editing tasks.

Why Could Nano Banana Compete with Photoshop?

Google positions Nano Banana as a potential challenger to traditional photo editing software through several advantages that target Photoshop’s main barriers for everyday users.

Conversational Editing Commands – The interface relies on natural language rather than technical terminology or complex tool selections. Users can request changes like “brighten the lighting and blur the background” without navigating through menus or understanding layer systems. This approach aims to eliminate the learning curve that makes professional editing software intimidating for casual users.

Multi-Part Request Processing – The system supposedly handles complex, layered instructions without breaking down or ignoring parts of your request. Instead of needing separate commands for each modification, you can describe comprehensive changes in a single prompt and expect coherent results that fulfill all your requirements.

Commercial-Grade Output Quality – Google claims the results meet professional standards suitable for business applications, marketing materials, and commercial projects. The goal is taking away the need for additional cleanup or refinement that’s typically necessary with AI-generated edits.

Fast Processing Speed – Generation times reportedly range from 10-20 seconds, significantly faster than competing AI image tools that can take up to several minutes for complex edits. This speed advantage is especially valuable compared to the time Photoshop edits would actually take.

Photoshop-Style Edit Examples

Product and Branding Replacement

We wanted to test how well Nano Banana could swap out the main product and branding in a professional advertisement while maintaining the natural look of the original photo. This type of edit is common in marketing when brands want to adapt existing campaign materials for different products.

Prompt Used: “Replace the full energy drink and logo in this photo with the one I attached. For the logo in the top right corner, extract it from the Fello energy drink can.”

Test Results: The result was very pleasing overall. The energy drink can replacement fits the hand positioning and angle naturally, while the water droplet details on the new can look believable and match the photo’s lighting. The logo extraction and placement in the top right corner was handled correctly, maintaining the original design aesthetic.

However, the bottom of the can appears slightly unnaturally gold, likely because Nano Banana carried over some of the original can’s gold shine effects, but this is a minor flaw that doesn’t significantly impact the overall professional appearance.

Lighting Transformation

We wanted to test Nano Banana’s ability to transform an entire image’s lighting scenario while maintaining realism across all elements. This type of lighting change requires adjusting the sky, subject lighting, product lighting, and branding elements to create a cohesive nighttime aesthetic.

Prompt Used: “Change the setting of this image to the night. Edit the lighting accordingly so that it would look like professional studio lighting. Change the logo in the top right corner to white, so it would pop out on the night sky.”

Test Results: The results were mixed with both impressive successes and notable failures. Nano Banana correctly transformed the sky to nighttime, adjusted the lighting on both the person and the energy drink can appropriately, and changed the logo to white for better contrast against the dark background.

However, there’s an obvious white outline around the person that was likely intended to simulate studio lighting but looks unnatural and distracting.

Complex Pose Integration

We tested whether Nano Banana could seamlessly integrate a person from a separate photo into a car scene while positioning them in a relatively complex pose. This type of edit requires understanding spatial relationships, realistic body positioning, and natural integration of lighting and shadows.

Prompt Used: “Edit this image so that the man would be opening the door of the Porsche from the right side. Make the lighting completely natural and realistic.”

Test Results: This was a clear failure across multiple aspects. Instead of naturally integrating the person into the scene, Nano Banana simply pasted the original image of the man on top of the car photo without any attempt at realistic positioning or perspective adjustment. A random hand appears reaching toward the car door, completely disconnected from the person’s actual arm position. Additionally, the man somehow gained an extra bag in the process, now carrying two bags instead of the original one.

The lighting integration was also poor, with no attempt to match the car photo’s lighting conditions or create realistic shadows.

Object Integration

We tested Nano Banana’s ability to naturally add accessories to an existing photo without disrupting the original scene. This type of edit is common for enhancing casual photos or creating product placement shots that look authentic rather than obviously edited.

Prompt Used: “Naturally add this handbag and sunglasses to the image of the woman.”

Test Results: The results were pretty decent overall, showing Nano Banana can handle basic object integration reasonably well. The sunglasses were integrated convincingly, the handbag placement was also handled decently, though not perfectly – it appears in a logical position but the integration could be more seamless in terms of how it interacts with her clothing and lighting.

Magazine Cover Design

We wanted to test how well Nano Banana could transform the previous photo into a professional magazine cover design with appropriate typography and layout elements. This type of transformation requires understanding graphic design principles, text placement, and visual hierarchy that makes covers compelling and readable.

Prompt Used: “Turn this image into a Vogue magazine cover for Paris Fashion Week now.”

Test Results: The result falls into mediocre territory – not terrible but far from impressive either. The text organization and positioning show some understanding of magazine layout principles, with elements placed in logical locations for a cover design.

However, the text lacks proper contrast against the background image and doesn’t stand out in any meaningful way, making it difficult to read and reducing the overall impact. This suggests that while Nano Banana can attempt graphic design tasks, it struggles with the nuanced visual hierarchy and typography choices that make professional magazine covers effective and eye-catching.

YouTube Thumbnail Recreation

We wanted to test Nano Banana’s ability to recreate a polished YouTube thumbnail design using our own photos as source material. This type of edit requires understanding thumbnail composition, text hierarchy, and strategic placement of visual elements to create engaging clickable content.

Prompt Used: “Recreate this polished Youtube thumbnail with my images.”

Test Results: This attempt showed mixed results. The headline text was replicated quite well, with good positioning and font choices that matched the professional thumbnail aesthetic we were targeting.

However, the person placement completely missed the mark – instead of integrating the subject naturally into the composition, Nano Banana simply pasted the person onto the image without considering proper sizing, or positioning.

Follow-Up Thumbnail Recreation

After the previous attempt didn’t achieve our desired result, we decided to provide more specific instructions about the exact positioning and scene we wanted. This tested whether Nano Banana performs better with detailed descriptions rather than relying on visual example interpretation.

Prompt Used: “Keep the header the same. But place the man from my image so that he would be standing on the edge of some platform in swimming shorts facing forward but looking back at the camera. The scene should be overlooking the yacht from my image, from a high-ground.”

Test Results: This attempt showed quite significant improvement, though several issues remained. Nano Banana successfully positioned the person in the pose we wanted – standing on a platform edge, facing forward while looking back at the camera – and even changed their outfit to swimwear as specified. The person’s facial characteristics were maintained pretty well, and the lighting was decent for the scene.

However, there were still notable problems. The “O” in the “Monaco” headline just disappeared, and a smaller boat appeared in the background that looks obviously unintegrated and disproportionately small for the scene. This tells us that while detailed prompts help Nano Banana understand complex positioning requirements, it still struggles with maintaining consistency in text elements and realistic scene integration.

How to try Nano Banana (fast)

1. Gemini on the web/app: open Gemini, pick a recent model (users report best results with 2.5 Flash), upload your image(s), and give precise edit instructions. Use multi-turn edits (one change at a time) and reference photos for better accuracy (“use the yellow Porsche as the car”).
2. AI Image Studio on iOS: download the app, upload a photo, and type your edit prompt. The app uses Gemini’s Nano Banana models under the hood and is optimized for quick, clean edits. No sign-up needed.
3. Other Third‑party testers: some folks use “battle mode” sites that pit models head‑to‑head. If you use one, be cautious with uploads and never pay shady sites claiming “official Nano Banana.”

Conclusion

Nano Banana is definitely a strong AI image generation model that might actually compete with Photoshop for certain user groups, if its main persisting issues get fixed. In some use cases, it can already achieve results that you’d almost think were made in Photoshop, while in others it can reach similar quality but requires multiple iterations, which might take considerable time anyway.

Its ability to understand complex edits through natural language prompts is genuinely impressive and not far-fetched, though it still lacks consistency in certain scenarios. Our testing showed clear strengths in straightforward object integration and product replacement, but notable weaknesses in complex pose positioning and maintaining design elements like text consistency. When it comes to interpreting visual examples, it performs better when you actually tell it what you want it to do.

Nano Banana has its flaws, but if you take the time to guide it through the editing process and go through several iterations, you’ll likely get close to your desired result. Whether it’s worth the effort depends on your specific needs and how much time you’re willing to invest in image refinement. The best approach is testing the editor yourself with your particular use cases to see if it fits your workflow and quality expectations.