April 4, 2025, San Francisco, California — The highly anticipated Midjourney V7 image model officially entered its alpha testing phase yesterday (April 3rd), as announced through official Midjourney channels. This marks another significant step for the AI research company in the field of image generation technology. Midjourney founder and CEO David Holtz called V7 "our most intelligent, aesthetically pleasing, and coherent model to date," promising updates every one to two weeks over the next two months, ensuring continuous improvements for users.
Background
On April 2nd, the Midjourney team announced through official channels that they would be ending their months-long "RELAX-ATHON" (unlimited Relax mode) to adjust their server clusters for the V7 model launch. This sparked lively discussions within the community, with many users speculating about the imminent arrival of a new version. The following day, the official confirmation of V7's alpha test launch and invitation to experience the new model followed.
This release comes almost a year after Midjourney's last major update. As a pioneer in the AI image generation field since its founding in 2022 by David Holtz, Midjourney has earned widespread acclaim for its unique aesthetic style and high-quality output. V7's development reportedly took several months, utilizing a "completely different architecture" and incorporating new datasets and natural language processing techniques to significantly improve image quality and prompt understanding.
Key Highlights of V7
Based on official announcements and community feedback, Midjourney V7 brings several exciting new features and improvements:
Draft Mode — V7 introduces a new "Draft Mode," described by the team as "possibly the best way to iterate on ideas." This mode boasts a 10x speed increase and a 50% cost reduction, allowing users to "think and create simultaneously" through voice input, making inspiration flow like a "liquid dream." This feature is particularly well-suited for rapid prototyping and creative exploration, and is expected to be very popular with artists and designers.
Higher Image Quality and Coherence — User-shared examples of V7 output show an astonishing level of detail. The new model demonstrates significant improvements in the coherence of complex elements such as human bodies, hands, and objects, while also providing richer textures and higher resolution.
Personalized Features by Default — Unlike previous versions, V7 enables personalized features by default. Users need to rate approximately 200 images to build a personalized profile, adjusting the model's output to match their individual visual preferences. This makes V7 the first Midjourney model to activate personalization by default, further enhancing the uniqueness of the user experience.
Future Update Plans — Midjourney promises continuous feature releases over the next 60 days, including a new character and object reference system. These updates will progressively refine V7's capabilities, making it better suited for professional needs.
How to Experience V7
Users wishing to try V7 must first complete the personalization setup process. Afterward, the new model can be enabled on the Midjourney website or Discord chatbot. On the website, users can quickly switch to V7 using the version selection dropdown menu. The company also notes that standard features such as upscaling and re-texturing are not yet enabled in V7 but are expected to be rolled out over the next two months.
Industry Significance
The release of Midjourney V7 not only solidifies its position in the AI image generation field but also sets a new benchmark for the industry. In an increasingly competitive market, Midjourney has distanced itself from competitors like DALL-E and Stable Diffusion by focusing on image quality, user control, and professional applicability.
The company's announcement of a new hardware team and the training of video and 3D object generation models reveals its broader ambitions in the multimedia space.
For creative professionals, the arrival of V7 signifies more efficient tools and broader possibilities. From rapid prototyping to commercial-grade image generation, Midjourney V7 is driving a deeper integration of artificial intelligence and human imagination. The updates in the coming weeks are highly anticipated, and the evolution of this technology will undoubtedly continue to shape the future of art and design.
