Google DeepMind released three new AI models on Tuesday, July 21, 2026 — Gemini 3.6 Flash, Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite, and Gemini 3.5 Flash Cyber — but did not include the long-anticipated update to its flagship Gemini Pro model.
Gemini 3.6 Flash is positioned as Google’s primary workhorse model, offering improvements in coding, knowledge work, and multimodal performance, while reducing token usage by up to 17% compared to its predecessor, Gemini 3.5 Flash. Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is the most cost-effective option in the lineup. The third release, Gemini 3.5 Flash Cyber, is a specialized model fine-tuned for identifying and fixing cybersecurity vulnerabilities. It will be available exclusively to governments and trusted partners through a limited access pilot program. Google said the focus of these releases is to deliver efficiency, lower latency, and reliability for customers building AI agents at scale.
Notably absent from the release was Gemini Pro, Google’s highest-capability model for complex reasoning and coding tasks, which was last updated in February. In May, Google had teased an imminent Pro release alongside the 3.5 Flash launch, stating the model was “already being used internally” and would roll out “next month.” Last week, Bloomberg reported that Google was facing internal delays due to the model not meeting internal performance goals.
Google DeepMind product lead Logan Kilpatrick said Tuesday that Gemini 3.5 Pro is currently being tested with partners and that the team hopes to “land soon.” He also noted that the team has begun its most extensive pre-training run yet for Gemini 4.
The delayed Pro release comes as competitors have maintained a rapid release pace. Since February, OpenAI has released GPT-5.5 and begun rolling out GPT-5.6, while Anthropic has launched Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Sonnet 5, and expanded access to its Fable 5 model. The continued absence of a Pro update may raise questions about Google’s position at the frontier of AI model development.
Source: TechCrunch