Google releases three new Gemini models — but no 3.5 Pro - TechCrunch

What the report says

TechCrunch reported that Google DeepMind released three Gemini models on Tuesday: Gemini 3.6 Flash, Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and Gemini 3.5 Flash Cyber. The new lineup is aimed at customers deploying AI agents at scale, with Google emphasizing efficiency, lower latency and reliability rather than a new top-end flagship release.

According to the report, Gemini 3.6 Flash is positioned as Google’s main “workhorse” model, with claimed gains in coding, knowledge work and multimodal tasks. Google says it can cut token use by up to 17% compared with 3.5 Flash, which would reduce costs. Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is described as the lowest-cost option in its class, while 3.5 Flash Cyber is a security-focused model trained to help identify and fix cybersecurity vulnerabilities. TechCrunch said the cyber model will be limited to governments and trusted partners through a pilot program.

The absence of Gemini 3.5 Pro is the central strategic question raised by the launch. TechCrunch noted that Gemini Pro, generally Google’s higher-capability line for complex reasoning and coding, has not been updated since February, even as rival AI labs have continued releasing frontier models. The report cites OpenAI’s GPT-5.5 and GPT-5.6 rollout, and Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Sonnet 5 and expanded Fable 5 access as examples of the competitive pace.

Google had previously suggested that a Pro update would follow the 3.5 Flash release, and Bloomberg recently reported internal delays tied to performance targets. TechCrunch said Google DeepMind product lead Logan Kilpatrick stated that Gemini 3.5 Pro is being tested with partners and is expected to arrive “soon,” while work has also begun on a major pre-training run for Gemini 4.