Midjourney V8.2 becomes the default model
By Steven Van ·
The taste-focused release, in preview since late June, now replaces V8.1 unless you pin a version.
Midjourney has released V8.2 and made it the default model for everyone. In the company's words, the release is focused on aesthetics, personalization, and image quality, with a new style that is "more creative, bold, edgy and fresh."
A month in preview, now the default
V8.2 did not appear out of nowhere. Since late June anyone could sample the in-development model by adding --preview to a prompt, and Midjourney iterated on the build in public while V8.1 stayed the default. That preview period is over. New generations now run on V8.2 unless you pin an older version with the --v parameter or in settings.
Aesthetics and personalization take the lead
Unlike V8.1, which centered on speed and cost (native 2K rendering at 3x faster and 3x cheaper than V8), V8.2 is a taste release. Midjourney says the new default style is bolder and fresher, and that personalization works better than ever. Personalization is Midjourney's system for learning your visual preferences from your likes and rankings, so a stronger personalization model means your profile should steer results more accurately with less prompt wrangling.
What to do with your existing workflows
Default model changes are the ones that quietly reshape output overnight, so it is worth rerunning a few of your staple prompts to see how the new aesthetic lands. If you rely on style references or moodboards, expect somewhat different interpretations under the new model. And if a client project depends on V8.1's exact look, lock the version explicitly rather than riding the default.
Sources: Midjourney on X, Midjourney Docs: Version.