Google shuts down Imagen 4 API — migrate to Gemini image now
Three endpoints went dark Aug 17; the successor costs 67% more at list, breaks generate_images(), drops negative prompts, and forces SynthID watermarks.
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Three Imagen 4 endpoints are gone
As of Aug 17, imagen-4.0-generate-001, its -ultra- and -fast- siblings return errors. Any pipeline still calling them is broken right now — Google's stated successor is gemini-3.1-flash-image.
It's an API rewrite, not a model swap
generate_images() is gone; you call generate_content() and dig images out of response.candidates[0].content.parts as base64 instead of a clean array. The number_of_images param is removed, so multi-image jobs mean looping calls yourself.
67% pricier at list — but cheaper in batch
Imagen 4 Standard was $0.040/image. Gemini 3.1 Flash Image is $0.067 at standard rates, or $0.034 through the Batch API. Move high-volume generation to batch or your image bill climbs.
You lose negative prompts and PNG choice
The new model drops negative prompts and output-format control — PNG is now mandatory — and SynthID watermarking flips from optional to always-on. Prompts that leaned on exclusions need reworking.
Next domino: gemini-2.5-flash-image, Oct 2
This isn't one-and-done. gemini-2.5-flash-image shuts down Oct 2, pushing you to gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview. Pin your image model IDs and set a reminder before the next endpoint disappears.