Flux - a star in the image generator firmament

AI tools are appearing on the market every day, but not an image generator to challenge the big players. So it's no surprise that newcomer Flux is making waves. With good detail, realistic visualization, and the ability to accurately reproduce complex scenes, Flux is challenging the established models.

What makes Flux special? 

In tests, Flux outperforms established tools such as Midjourney, DALL-E 3, and Stable Diffusion in some areas. In detail:

• Image Quality: Flux produces detailed, realistic images that are particularly impressive in complex scenes and stylistic variety.
• Precision: Flux handles complex prompts well and accurately realizes surreal scenes.
• Text: Flux is significantly better at displaying text than many of its competitors, although this is mostly true for English text so far.

Flux also has its weaknesses, including speed of image generation and creativity. Models like Midjourney are still ahead in these areas. Overall, the results are still a bit too playful - the AI kitsch that we still see with other models, especially with inexperienced users, is difficult to avoid with Flux. 

Three models for different needs

Flux is available in three versions to cover different application scenarios:

• Flux.1[pro]: The most powerful model for commercial applications, available through an interface
• Flux.1[dev]: A community open source version, ideal for non-commercial projects
• Flux.1[fast]: A faster model for personal use, offering high image quality with faster processing time

If you don't want to go through the hassle of setting up Flux yourself or using the interface, you can try it out at fal or Poe (a Poe subscription is required for the Pro version).

Who is behind Flux? 

Black Forest Labs, the maker of Flux, has its origins in its name: The team of mostly German developers worked on Stable Diffusion and has a lot of experience in the field of image generation. This has apparently convinced the investors, who have already invested $31 million in the first round of funding. Among them are well-known names like Andreessen Horowitz.

Why do we take Flux seriously?

Flux is not "more of the same", although there are of course other development teams with experience that could try to establish themselves in the image generator market. After Stable Diffusion failed to establish itself, the technical team behind it has now come together in a new company. If they can avoid the mistakes of stability.ai, they may be able to catch up or even overtake the big players. With the announcement of their video generator and the first promising examples, it looks like they might succeed.