Simply after we all received cozy with Midjourney and DALL-E 3 — considering it was the gold normal — OpenAI went forward and dropped GPT-4o. No huge promo marketing campaign, no mysterious teaser. Only a informal announcement that, oh by the best way, their new mannequin occurs to be ridiculously good at creating pictures.
At first look, you may suppose, “Alright, it’s most likely simply DALL-E 3 with a brand new coat of paint.” However no, this isn’t simply an replace. It’s a full-blown glow-up. Think about DALL-E 3 going by a Rocky-style coaching montage, studying from its previous errors, and coming again shredded.
So I did what any curious, barely obsessive nerd would do: I put them to the check. Aspect-by-side. Immediate for immediate. From photorealism to pixel artwork to summary concepts and even that cursed “room with out an elephant” problem — I threw the whole lot at them.
Right here’s how GPT-4o stacks up towards its older sibling — and spoiler alert: issues get somewhat one-sided.
What’s DALL-E 3?
In the event you’ve been anyplace close to ChatGPT the previous few years, you’ve got most likely heard of DALL-E 3.
It’s (or, was, however I’m getting forward of myself) OpenAI’s essential text-to-image technology mannequin — a mannequin optimized for understanding context. Developed as a big leap ahead from its predecessors, DALL-E 3 represents a leap in how synthetic intelligence can rework textual descriptions into gorgeous, nuanced visible representations.
What made DALL-E 3 genuinely spectacular is its unprecedented degree of immediate understanding and picture technology accuracy. Not like earlier fashions that usually produced considerably summary or imperfect pictures, this model can translate complicated, multi-layered descriptions into exact visuals.
However hey, don’t take my phrase for it, as a substitute take my phrase for it after I was reviewing the mannequin when it first got here out.
What’s GPT-4o Picture Era?
Once I first heard the information, my first query was “what makes OpenAI’s new picture mannequin totally different from DALL-E?”
At a floor degree, not a lot. The best way you may entry and use their new mannequin is similar because it at all times was: by ChatGPT or by utilizing their APIs. Probably the most important change (and belief me, it’s important) is their functionality.
The largest limitations of AI picture turbines right now are context dealing with and textual content technology. It doesn’t matter if it’s DALL-E 3, Midjourney, Firefly, Meta — they typically fail when given an extended immediate or requests that want numerous textual content.
OpenAI’s GPT-4o Picture Generator is the change we wanted. I imply, simply have a look at this:
Authentic Immediate:
That isn’t simply acceptable, that’s good.
For this reason I’m excited to do this one out, however a easy check wouldn’t lower it. As a substitute, I needed to match it towards its predecessor: DALL-E 3.
GPT-4o Picture Era vs. DALL-E 3
Photorealism
Immediate: A 1:1 picture taken with a cellphone of a younger man reaching the summit of a mountain at dawn. The sphere of view reveals different hikers within the background taking a photograph of the view.
DALL-E 3 continues to be caught in that uncomfortable “uncanny valley” the place individuals seem like they have been stretched. Background people scale about as naturally as a fun-house mirror.
However GPT-4o? That is totally different. These pictures seem like they have been snapped on a smartphone — so good that you just’d swear a human photographer was behind the lens. It isn’t simply good. It is “did I by chance obtain a inventory photograph?” good.
Pixel Artwork
Immediate: A pixel artwork illustration of the Taj Mahal.
DALL-E 3 tries laborious — actually laborious. It generates these flashy pixel artwork pictures that look spectacular at first look. Zoom in, although, and the magic falls aside. Pixels mix like watercolors as a substitute of being distinct.
As for GPT-4o, it is the pixel artwork purist’s dream. Easy, clear, each pixel precisely the place it must be.
Structure & Inside Design
Immediate: Create a picture of the inside design of a Bauhaus-inspired condominium.
DALL-E 3 apparently missed the memo on Bauhaus fully. Throw a Bauhaus immediate at it, and you will get one thing that appears prefer it was designed by a bat who as soon as noticed a Bauhaus poster from actually distant.
GPT-4o nails it. Colours pop — each line is intentional and each shade is calculated. That is Pinterest prepared.
Mimicking Artwork Kinds
Immediate: Create a picture of a dawn as seen from a beachfront villa, within the model of Van Gogh.
After seeing y’all make “Studio Ghibli”-style pictures of yourselves, I’ll admit — I used to be tempted to do the identical for this spherical, however I opted to go a unique (however acquainted) route: Van Gogh.
DALL-E 3’s Van Gogh? Certain, there are swirls. Certain, there’s some blue. However this is not Van Gogh — that is Van Gogh’s distant, much less gifted cousin. In the meantime, GPT-4o recreates brush strokes so completely you may nearly really feel the feel of the canvas.
Summary Ideas
Each fashions deal with summary ideas surprisingly properly. However DALL-E 3 nonetheless cannot shake that telltale “AI smoothness” — , that digital polish that screams “computer-generated.” It is like a wonderfully waxed ground: spectacular, however one thing’s simply… off.
Textual content Era
Immediate: Create a picture of a mileage signal taken by a cellphone. The content material of the signal should be as follows:
Line 1: “Manila” “10.1KM”
Line 2: “Antipolo” “20.4KM”
Line 3: “Batangas” “34.5KM”
Line 4: “Quezon” “49.44KM”
Line 5: “Naga” “142.4KM”
GPT-4o has perfected AI textual content technology in pictures. It’s not simply DALL-E 3 — Midjourney, Firefly, Grok — all of them need to play catch-up to be this good. There’s not a single letter missed, artifact misplaced, or quantity malformed. That is simply a picture of a mileage signal, and I imply that in a great way.
“A Room With out An Elephant”
Immediate: Create a picture of a room with out an elephant.
It is a well-known immediate within the r/ChatGPT neighborhood that famously breaks DALL-E. If you specify an exclusion, because of low contextual understanding, DALL-E contains it within the picture as a substitute. You may see the identical factor taking place above.
Thankfully, GPT-4o doesn’t have the identical situation anymore, displaying that its nuance is evolving. It’s boring — correctly.
The Backside Line
I’ve mentioned this earlier than and I’ll say it once more: DALL-E 3, whereas good at context, was unhealthy at artwork. Thankfully, it’s simply that GPT-4o walked in and made it seem like a warm-up act.
In almost each class, GPT-4o doesn’t simply outperform — it redefines what “good” means in AI picture technology. Whether or not you’re speaking realism, artwork model mimicry, or absolutely the nightmare that’s rendering readable textual content in a picture, GPT-4o dealt with all of it prefer it was constructed for this.
The actual kicker? Context. GPT-4o really will get what you’re asking for — not simply the phrases, however the intention behind them. You say “a room with out an elephant,” and for as soon as, the mannequin doesn’t attempt to sneak a cartoon elephant within the nook. It simply… listens.
That’s what units it aside. It’s not nearly sharper pixels or prettier outputs. It’s about understanding. And as soon as an AI mannequin begins doing that reliably? That’s when issues get thrilling.
So yeah — DALL-E 3 had a great run. But when that is the place GPT-4o begins, I can’t wait to see what’s subsequent.
