Is Google’s latest AI image-editing tool an Adobe-killer? New data suggests it may be hurting it.
When Google launched its Gemini 2.5 Flash model — better known by its more fun codename Nano Banana — in August, it became a viral hit. Because of its ability to edit images using AI for free (or at a low cost if you’re using it through the API), we wondered if it might spell bad news for Adobe, which sells competing image software.
Data provided to Business Insider by Appfigures, an analytics company, reveals that as downloads of Gemini skyrocketed around the time of Nano Banana’s release, downloads of Firefly, Adobe’s generative AI image and video app, began to slump.
While it’s impossible to say for certain that the two are directly related, the timing closely matches. After launching in June, Firefly was experiencing “impressive” growth, with downloads in August up 150% over the previous month, Randy Nelson, Appfigures’ head of insights, told Business Insider. Gemini grew just 20% in that same period. The data includes downloads from both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
Adobe could not immediately be reached for comment.
After Google rolled out Nano Banana to the Gemini app on August 26, Firefly downloads dropped by more than half over the following week, while Google’s app skyrocketed.
As of October 6, Gemini downloads were up 331% compared to the last week of July, while Firefly was down 68% — its lowest since the arrival of Nano Banana — per the Appfigures data.
To further put that into perspective, Google’s Gemini app had 6.1 million more downloads last week than the week it integrated the new image model, according to the data, while Firefly saw 2 million fewer downloads.
Further analysis from Appfigures of different territories shows that Gemini had an 88% jump in downloads in the US from the last month of September to the last month of October. Firefly, meanwhile, dropped by 82% during the same period in the US.
Adobe’s Firefly app lets people use a variety of models, and in September it added Google’s Nano Banana to the list. At the time of Nano Banana’s launch, Adobe told Business Insider that its advantage lies in having a variety of different models in one place so that users don’t have to move between different platforms.
Regardless, users appear to still be flocking to Gemini, and Adobe’s stock price — down nearly 35% in the past year — reflects the challenges its business faces from Google, OpenAI, and a host of other AI competitors knocking on the door.
Have something to share? Contact this reporter via email at hlangley@businessinsider.com or Signal at 628-228-1836. Use a personal email address and a non-work device; here’s our guide to sharing information securely.
Read the full article here
