Short Answer
Nano Banana and other Google models run on “official AI Studio” by default; Vertex operates as a separate compute pool that takes over when AIStudio has issues. The two channels are redundant — not an either/or choice.Default Group = Official AI Studio
Since Nano Banana launched in November 2025, APIYI has been routinggemini-3-pro-image (Nano Banana Pro), gemini-3.1-flash-image (Nano Banana 2), and the lite series exclusively through official AI Studio — never through reverse engineering channels (see Live Update · 2026-07).
Under the default group, you can call directly in most cases without any special configuration.
Where Is Vertex? How to Enable It?
Vertex (Google Cloud’s enterprise-grade channel) operates as a separate compute pool and is provided on APIYI as an independent group — select it when creating or editing a token. The exact group names shown on the dashboard are authoritative.AIStudio and Vertex Are Redundant Channels
The docs state explicitly: APIYI provides AIStudio + Vertex dual-channel redundancy for the Nano Banana series — when one official channel fails, the other takes over to maintain service availability (Nano Banana Developer Guide). Cases where switching actually happened:- 2026-06-19 incident: Google’s
AIStudiocompute issue caused official 2K/4K outputs to blur while 1K worked normally; temporarily switched to Vertex channel to recover 2K/4K (see Live Update · 2026-06). - 2026-05-28 incident: Both Gemini image preview models switched to the Vertex high-price channel to secure supply and returned to stable availability (see Live Update · 2026-05).
How to Check Whether the Upstream Is Down?
The most authoritative source is Google’s official AI Studio status page:
aistudio.google.com/status
The status page publishes official incident notices for the Gemini model family. For example:
- 2026-06-19 15:54: Marked as Detected. Original text: “We are experiencing issues with Nano Banana 2 and Nano Banana Pro models on Gemini API and AI Studio when using 2k or 4k resolution. Investigation is underway.” (see Live Update · 2026-06-19)
FAQ
Does the default pool only use AI Studio? Or does it include both Vertex and AI Studio?
Does the default pool only use AI Studio? Or does it include both Vertex and AI Studio?
Which group is Vertex in? How do I use Vertex?
Which group is Vertex in? How do I use Vertex?
When Nano Banana is slow, is Vertex less affected? Is AI Studio the most affected?
When Nano Banana is slow, is Vertex less affected? Is AI Studio the most affected?
How can I tell which channel my call actually used?
How can I tell which channel my call actually used?
- Whichever group your token is set to, calls use that group’s default channel
- Check the returned image size — AI Studio 4K ≈ 10 MB, Vertex 4K ≈ 20 MB, the difference is noticeable
- During upstream incidents, check Live Updates to see which channel the platform switched to