Stable Diffusion XL v0.9 is out. And the results are impressive.
This new ease of use could pose a serious threat to MidJourney, whose main appeal is its user-friendliness. Moreover, the cinematic aesthetics and precise object rendering by SDXL v0.9 could serve as a robust selling point for Stability AI, reminiscent of MidJourney's visual style.
Stability AI's latest gem will be accessible via Clipdrop, the AI image generating and editing tool developed by Init ML, a recent acquisition by Stability. The company's API customers are also due to gain access soon. However, the model is not yet ready for training or refining and doesn’t run locally. Once publicly released, it will require a system with at least 16GB of RAM and a GPU with 8GB of VRAM.
Meanwhile, Stability AI continues to develop the model alongside two other projects: a languishing large language model (LLM) named StableLM and the impressive DeepFloyd IF, an advanced text-to-image generator capable of embedding legible text into images—a feat not yet achieved by existing models.
According to Stability AI, mid-July is the anticipated date for the public release of this game-changing model as open-source software, marking another important milestone for the company.