Google just unleashed three new versions of its speedy and efficient Gemini Flash models, including an all-round workhorse and a model geared toward cybersecurity. But the arrival of the new Flash models also highlights what’s missing from the lineup: a new “Pro” model.
Both Gemini 3.6 Flash and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite are available now in the Gemini app, while Gemini 3.5 Flash Cyber will initially be released only for government use and to “trusted partners.” The limited release follows the precedent set by Anthropic and OpenAI, which offered Mythos 5 and GPT-5.6 Sol, respectively, in limited release due to their advanced cybersecurity abilities. (Mythos 5 is still restricted to “trusted partners.”)
But while we now have new Gemini Flash models, we’re still stuck with Gemini 3.1 Pro, which was released way back in February—ancient history as far as the AI market is concerned.
In contrast, OpenAI’s latest frontier model, GPT-5.6 Sol, came out at the end of last month. Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 also landed in June, with Fable 5 briefly getting yanked after the sudden imposition of US government export controls. Prior to that, we also saw the release of GPT-5.5 (April) and Claude Opus 4.8 (in May).
In a press release, Google said it will be “releasing 3.5 Pro soon.”
Many (myself included) expected Gemini 3.5 Pro to arrive in May during Google’s I/O conference, but that didn’t happen. Speculation about 3.5 Pro’s status grew following a recent Bloomberg article, which claimed the model remains in development after “disappointing” testing results.
For its part, Google says Gemini 3.6 Flash is good for coding and “knowledge work,” as well as multimodal tasks like analyzing charts and parsing documents. Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite, meanwhile, is optimized for low-latency tasks such as agentic search.
While speedy and efficient models like Gemini 3.6 Flash and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite are great for summarizing documents, planning meals for the week, or performing everyday AI duties, “pro”-tier models like Claude Opus and Fable or GPT-5.6 Sol are best suited for more complex tasks, like full-blown coding, working in large Excel documents, or composing lengthy prompts.
Personally, I’ve largely abandoned Gemini Pro in favor of newer pro AI models like Claude Opus 4.8 and GPT-5.6, although that could all change once Gemini 3.5 Pro finally drops. The big question, though, is when?
