MidJourney V6.5 Will Be Split Into Two Releases

The MidJourney team decided to split V6.5 into two releases because the two major algorithm improvements are conflicting with each other.

1st Release

• Focus on Pixel quality.
• May have a better image upscaler.
• After the release, the team will collect more data from users before the second release.

2nd Release

• Focus on hand and body coherence and text accuracy.

Current Status

• Trainings are currently being run.
• The team may label it as Alpha upon release and not make it the default initially to allow for more user testing before it becomes the default.
• David mentioned that the target release date for V6.5 is sometime this month.

🤖 A New Version of Model Personalization In Progress

David updated us today that the team is working on releasing the next version of Model Personalization.

The new system will:

• Allow for quicker changes.
• Enable users to use multiple personalization codes for different tasks.

They are also developing a new “Personalization Test” that is:

• More fun.
• Faster.
• More accurate.

A New “Demographic Explorer” Feature Coming Soon!

MidJourney will soon release a new explorer based on demographic data collected from the ongoing Demographic Survey.

After gathering enough data, the team may introduce a new “Demographic Aesthetic” feature to allow the calibration of different modes.

For example, users may be able to switch between:

• Genders (male, female, LGBTQ, etc.)
• Different age groups (under 25 years old, over 65 years old, etc.)
• Different regions (Asia, the US, Europe, etc.)

Users will also have the option to turn these settings on or off.

Short Term Plan

• David expressed that they are figuring out how to implement this new “Demographic Aesthetic” feature, with gender mode switching likely being the first to be introduced relatively soon.

On a side note, David expects controversy around this new feature, but he believes that “It’s better to explore biases than to hide them” and that “It feels right, and I find it interesting.”

🎨 A New “Style Exploration Tool”

The team may introduce a “Style Exploration Tool” or “Random Style Explorer” for Style Reference (Sref), which can render out a huge collection of styles for users to explore.

• David mentioned he already has some ideas and is trying to implement something that is not too complicated, aiming for a release within a month.
• Currently, the team is running a bit behind on developing this feature. They may develop a simpler version to release it sooner rather than later.

🚀 MidJourney V7 Development

David updated that they are currently conducting many V7 sub-training runs and will soon begin the final training runs. They are also finishing data preparation.

Key features of V7:

• More focused on speed rather than big batches.
• Better aesthetics.
• Improved world knowledge.
• Enhanced language understanding.
• Higher image quality.
• Improved inpainting feature, “Vary (Region)”.
• Model Personalization for V7 may start from a clean slate.

David said there’s no estimated release date for V7 yet, and it will take at least two more months.

🤩 Other Long-Term MidJourney Projects in Development

New ControlNet Capability

• Working on a new depth ControlNet, which will allow users to guide and have more control over their MidJourney images.
• It will possibly be the last feature of V6.5.

New Drawing Mode

• Testing will start on a new “drawing mode” as there is enough data now.
• This mode will let people draw into MidJourney.
• David said he’s uncertain if it will be a V6.5 or V7 feature.

MidJourney 3D

• It is making very nice progress—David is very optimistic about it—but he said it will take some time.
• According to David, we can think of the first version of MidJourney 3D as moving the camera a bit around from your current image.
• It will be static initially but will have movement in later versions.

MidJourney Video

• Video models are in development but will be released later.
• David updated that due to their higher standards, which require specialized skills, not many people in the team are currently working on them.
• The initial focus will be on quality over controllability.

Other “Weird Projects”

• The MidJourney team is trying to get other more “weird projects” off the ground.
• David said, “Hopefully, in a few months, we will see some pretty weird and cool stuff,” but he wanted to keep it a secret for now.