Physix Frontier · News Briefing Card (Leiphone · Nov 9, 2026)

ByteDance launches Seedream 5.5 image model on Doubao and Jimeng

KEY FACTS

ByteDance released its Doubao image creation model Seedream 5.5 on November 9, and it is now live in Doubao, Doubao Work, and Jimeng simultaneously.
The Seedream 5.5 API will launch on Volcano Ark, continuing the two-part billing of input image plus output image, with text tokens free of charge.
Editing a single 2K square image costs about 0.28 yuan, less than half that of the previous-generation Seedream 5.0 Pro.
The new model natively supports RGBA transparent asset generation and decomposition, and can output images with an Alpha channel and layer them.
In hands-on testing, after more than a hundred consecutive rounds of edits, the subject, composition, and lighting in non-edited regions remained consistent.

KEY DATA

about 0.28 yuanCost per 2K square image edit

over a hundred roundsConsecutive edit rounds tested

PHYSIX OBSERVATION

Competition among image models has shifted from image quality to workflow: transparent assets, layered output, and stability across a hundred rounds of edits directly target production scenarios such as e-commerce and film and television. Pushing the per-image cost down to 0.28 yuan will accelerate design teams' adoption of AI into their daily pipelines, but a Pro version has not been released, and its ability to handle complex instructions still needs verification.

Source: Leiphone report