xAI Grok Imagine Video 1.5: Image-to-Video with Native Audio Tops Arena Leaderboard, API Now Live
xAI
xAI shipped Grok Imagine Video 1.5 as a preview on May 30-31, 2026; the API became available on June 3 at api.x.ai under alias `grok-imagine-video-1.5-2026-05-30`. The model animates a still image (or text prompt) into a clip with native synchronized audio — music, sound effects, and lip-synced dialogue — supporting video extension and reference-guided generation at 720p. At launch it claimed the top position on the Image-to-Video Arena leaderboard with a 52 Elo-point jump over v1.0. Pricing: $0.08/s at 480p, $0.14/s at 720p.
Why it matters
Takes first place on the Image-to-Video Arena leaderboard immediately at launch; native audio sync directly in video generation is still rare in publicly-accessible models.
Importance: 3/5
Official xAI news page and xAI docs; The Decoder independent coverage; arena leaderboard #1 position at launch.