Joerg Hiller
Jan 13, 2026 17:47
Google DeepMind releases Veo 3.1 with 4K upscaling, native vertical video help, and improved character consistency for AI video era.
Google DeepMind rolled out vital upgrades to its Veo video era mannequin on January 13, 2026, including 4K decision output, native vertical video help, and enhanced consistency options geared toward each informal creators {and professional} filmmakers.
The Veo 3.1 replace focuses on what Google calls “Elements to Video” — the power to generate movies from reference photographs. Character id now stays constant throughout scene modifications, addressing a persistent ache level in AI video era the place faces and options would drift between frames.
What’s Really New
Three technical enhancements stand out. First, native 9:16 vertical video era eliminates the standard loss that comes from cropping horizontal footage for platforms like YouTube Shorts. Second, upscaling now reaches 1080p and 4K decision, pushing AI-generated video nearer to broadcast requirements. Third, background and object consistency has improved — textures, settings, and props keep their look all through a clip.
Google claims even easy prompts now produce “richer dialogue and storytelling,” although the corporate did not specify benchmarks for these enhancements.
The place You Can Entry It
The replace is hitting a number of platforms concurrently. Client entry comes by the Gemini app and YouTube’s Create app. Enterprise customers get entry by way of Stream, the Gemini API, Vertex AI, and Google Vids. The 4K choice is proscribed to Stream, the API, and Vertex AI — not the consumer-facing Gemini app.
Google additionally highlighted its SynthID watermarking system, which embeds an imperceptible digital signature in generated movies. A verification software within the Gemini app now lets customers add movies to examine in the event that they had been created with Google’s AI instruments.
Business Context
Veo first emerged in Could 2024 as Google’s reply to rivals within the text-to-video house. The mannequin was designed with cinematography understanding, coherent movement, and scene consistency as core priorities. This newest replace suggests Google is pushing towards skilled manufacturing use instances reasonably than treating AI video as a novelty function.
The mobile-first additions sign the place Google sees the speedy demand: short-form vertical content material for social platforms. Whether or not the 4K capabilities can match conventional manufacturing workflows stays to be examined by professionals working with the software.
Picture supply: Shutterstock
