Google Launches Gemini 3.6 Flash and Two New Variants as Gemini 4 Training Begins

Google ships three new Gemini models — 3.6 Flash with 17% fewer output tokens, a blistering 3.5 Flash-Lite, and a cybersecurity-focused Flash Cyber — while confirming Gemini 4's most ambitious pre-training run is already underway.

Google dropped a trio of new Gemini models today, headlined by Gemini 3.6 Flash, alongside the ultra-fast 3.5 Flash-Lite and a specialized cybersecurity variant, 3.5 Flash Cyber. The release comes with an unexpected bonus: the company confirmed it has already kicked off its "most ambitious pre-training run yet" for Gemini 4.

Gemini 3.6 Flash is the new workhorse. Google claims it reduces output token usage by 17% compared to 3.5 Flash, and in software engineering benchmarks like DeepSWE, the reduction hits up to 65% — meaning fewer wasted tokens on verbose code edits. Pricing lands at $1.50 per million input tokens and $7.50 per million output tokens, undercutting the previous 3.5 Flash. On knowledge work benchmarks, it scores 1421 on GDPval-AA v2, up from 1349. Computer use is now a built-in client-side tool via the Gemini API.

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is built for raw speed: 350 output tokens per second, making it Google's fastest 3.5-class model. It significantly outperforms prior Flash-Lite generations in agentic workflows — the kind where latency kills the user experience.

Gemini 3.5 Flash Cyber arrives paired with CodeMender, Google's code security agent. The model is purpose-built for cybersecurity applications, tuned for threat detection and code-vulnerability triage. Google positions it as reaching competitive frontier performance when orchestrated through its agent infrastructure.

Conspicuously absent from the lineup is Gemini 3.5 Pro, which Google said is "currently testing with partners" and will ship "as soon as it's ready." The continued Pro delay, now stretching months past the Flash series, has raised questions about whether Google is quietly reorganizing its mid-tier strategy around the forthcoming Gemini 4.

Sources: Google Blog TechCrunch