Google Ships Three New Gemini Models — But Skips 3.5 Pro

Google DeepMind expanded the Gemini family this week with three new Flash-class models: Gemini 3.6 Flash, 3.5 Flash-Lite, and a specialized Flash Cyber variant tuned for security workflows. The move slots Flash further into everyday consumer and developer use cases while extending Google's cost-per-token advantage in the low-latency segment.

What's missing

The conspicuous omission is a Gemini 3.5 Pro release. Enterprise customers had expected a mid-tier Pro model to bridge the gap between Flash and the top-end Ultra tier. Google has not publicly explained the gap, but internal sources suggest the Pro slot may be collapsing — with Flash absorbing lighter Pro workloads and Ultra handling the heavy end.

Why Flash Cyber matters

The Cyber variant is Google's first vertical-tuned Flash model. It's optimized for log analysis, incident triage, and threat detection prompts — an area where OpenAI and Anthropic have both been expanding fine-tuned offerings. Pricing is competitive with Anthropic's Claude Haiku at similar security workloads.

Takeaway

The three-model drop signals Google is doubling down on breadth over depth in the mid-market — going after developer volume rather than another enterprise flagship. Expect the Ultra line to move next quarter.

Source: TechCrunch