Google releases three new Gemini models — but no 3.5 Pro
TechCrunch AI Rebecca Bellan ● Covered by 8 sources
Google released three new Gemini models—Gemini 3.6 Flash, 3.5 Flash-Lite, and 3.5 Flash Cyber—focused on efficiency and cost reduction, but notably omitted the long-awaited Gemini 3.5 Pro. Gemini 3.6 Flash reduces token usage by up to 17% compared to its predecessor while improving coding and multimodal performance. The delay to Gemini 3.5 Pro, attributed to internal performance challenges, leaves Google behind competitors OpenAI and Anthropic in flagship model releases, though the company says Pro is in partner testing and aims to ship soon.
Why it matters
Google released Gemini 3.6 Flash, 3.5 Flash-Lite, and Flash Cyber, but the continued absence of Gemini 3.5 Pro raises fresh questions about its AI strategy.
Also covered by
- Ars Technica — Google announces Gemini 3.6 Flash and cybersecurity AI, teases 3.5 Pro and Gemini 4
- Google DeepMind — Introducing Gemini 3.6 Flash, 3.5 Flash-Lite, and 3.5 Flash Cyber
- The New Stack — Google ships 3 new Gemini models. Just not the one everyone’s waiting for.
- The Verge — Google launches a cheaper alternative to large AI security models like Mythos
- TLDR — Google is building a chip with Gemini baked into the silicon
- The New Stack — Google just bet its inference future on a chip built for one model
- TechCrunch AI — Google is working on a new AI chip designed to make Gemini more efficient
