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Gemini

Gemini 4 Argon is in general availability for Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers through the Gemini app and AI Mode in Google Search, with an API for developers, as of October 13, 2026. Google limits free individual users to Flash-Lite, AI Plus subscribers to Flash, and requires an AI Pro or AI Ultra subscription for Gemini Pro.

Synthesized from 12 Yomimono stories · updated Oct 15

Google's Gemini line has split into two tracks. The flagship track is Gemini 4 Argon, announced September 30, 2026 and opened to general availability on October 13 to Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers through the Gemini app and AI Mode in Google Search, with an API for developers. Argon is built for multi-step coding and research and for work in finance, law, cybersecurity, and science. Third-party testing by Artificial Analysis put Argon at 53 on its Intelligence Index v4.3.2, roughly level with Claude Fable 5.1 and GPT-6 Astra, which is the same model Google's own benchmark table had placed ahead of GPT-6 Astra and Claude Opus 5.5 on long-context and automation tests. Before release, Argon was limited to vetted cyber defense organizations under the Fairwind Program and to thousands of Google employees.

Around that flagship, Google has been shipping at a faster clip. Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash arrived August 27 with 360p drafts and 4K upscaling, and Gemini 3.5 Transcribe followed on August 28 with a 4.0% streaming word error rate, integration into Android's Rambler voice input and the macOS Gemini app, and support for over 85 languages. Gemini 3.8 Flash and a security-focused Flash Cyber model shipped September 2. The company also moved access by tier, announcing that from October 9 free individual users get Flash-Lite only, AI Plus subscribers get Flash, and Gemini Pro requires an AI Pro or AI Ultra subscription.

Outside the chat product, Google put Gemini into enterprise work. Gemini Agent, announced at Gemini at Work 2026 on October 8, sits inside Gemini Enterprise, works with Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Calendar, and integrates with Microsoft 365, Slack, and Salesforce. Gemini Robotics 2, announced July 30, controls whole-body robot movement and two-handed tasks, with Gemini Robotics ER 2 handling long task sequences. On the same day Google launched Gemini Quest, a Dragon Quest collaboration across four Shibuya and Harajuku venues running through August 9.

Key facts

Gemini 4 Argon general availability
Opened October 13, 2026 to Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers through the Gemini app and AI Mode in Google Search, with an API for developers. ↗
Gemini 4 Argon third-party score
53 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index v4.3.2, on par with Anthropic's Claude Fable 5.1 and OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra. ↗
Gemini Agent
Announced at Gemini at Work 2026 on October 8; built into Gemini Enterprise and works with Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Calendar, Microsoft 365, Slack, and Salesforce. ↗
Gemini free tier change
Starting October 9, 2026, free individual users are limited to Flash-Lite, AI Plus subscribers to Flash, and Gemini Pro requires an AI Pro or AI Ultra subscription. AI Plus is 725 yen per month, AI Pro 2,900 yen, and AI Ultra 14,500 yen. ↗
Gemini 4 Argon benchmarks
On the Vals Index Argon scored 68.9% against GPT-6 Astra's 63.1% and Claude Opus 5.5's 67.0%; on GraphWalks at 256,000 to 1 million tokens it scored 84.2%; on AutomationBench 51.3%. ↗
Gemini 3.8 Flash and Flash Cyber
Released September 2, 2026; API prices stay flat until January 1, 2027, when they double. ↗
Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash
Released August 27, 2026 with 360p previews, 720p final generation, and upscaling to 4K; ranked first in text-to-video and second in image-to-video in Arena tests. ↗
Gemini 3.5 Transcribe
Word error rate of 4.0% streaming and 2.6% non-streaming as measured by Artificial Analysis, a 70% reduction in time to final transcription versus Chirp 3, support for over 85 languages, and integration into Android's Rambler voice input and the macOS Gemini app. ↗
Gemini monthly users
Google CEO Sundar Pichai said Gemini surpassed 1 billion monthly active users, the 14th Google product to reach that figure and the fastest-growing in the company's history, excluding Google Search's AI mode. ↗
Gemini Robotics 2
Announced by Google DeepMind on July 30, 2026; a suite of Vision-Language-Action models for posture, object manipulation, and multi-robot collaboration, with Gemini Robotics ER 2 handling long task sequences. ↗

Timeline

Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every fact links the story it came from.

Facts

Announced
Gemini Agent, a general-purpose AI agent built into the existing Gemini Enterprise platform (Gemini at Work 2026) · 2026-10-09
Announced
Gemini for Financial Services and Gemini for Legal (Gemini at Work 2026) · 2026-10-09
Noted
Gemini, the company's AI assistant app, has surpassed 1 billion monthly active users. · 2026-08-12
Noted
The figure covers the Gemini app alone and does not include AI users from other channels such as Google Search's AI mode, which also has over 1 billion monthly users. · 2026-08-12
Noted
63% of Gemini users speak directly to the assistant, over 150 million images are generated daily, and the iOS app has more than 100 million active users. · 2026-08-12
Noted
Gemini's growth has been steady, with monthly active users exceeding 900 million at Google I/O in May and surpassing 950 million during the Q2 2026 earnings call last month. · 2026-08-12
Noted
Google continues to roll out new models, including Gemini 3.5 Flash, designed to improve coding and autonomous AI agent tasks, and has confirmed that Gemini 4 is in development. · 2026-08-12

Structured graph also available as JSON at /public/entities/gemini. CC BY 4.0.

All coverage

Oct 14

Google Releases Gemini 4 Argon To Pro And Ultra Subscribers

Google opened general availability of its Gemini 4 Argon AI model on October 13, 2026. The model, announced on September 30, 2026, had been limited to a small set of users including trusted cybersecurity personnel before this release. It is now available to Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers through the Gemini app and AI Mode in Google Search, and an API is offered to developers. Google says the model is built for multi-step coding and research and for work in finance, law, cybersecurity, and science, with the ability to read large volumes of documents and code. The third-party organization Artificial Analysis scored Gemini 4 Argon 53 on its Intelligence Index v4.3.2, a value on par with Anthropic's Claude Fable 5.1 and OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra. ASCII.jp notes that strong benchmark scores do not guarantee the model can do real work.

Oct 9

Google Adds Gemini Agent to Gemini Enterprise

At Gemini at Work 2026 on October 8, Google announced Gemini Agent, a general-purpose AI agent built into the existing Gemini Enterprise platform. A user states a goal, and the agent gathers information, assembles a procedure, and executes it. It works with Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Calendar, and integrates with Microsoft 365, Slack, and Salesforce. Google also announced Gemini for Financial Services and Gemini for Legal.

Oct 6

Google Moves Flash And Pro Behind Higher Gemini Tiers

Starting October 9, 2026, Google will limit the Gemini models available to individual free users to Flash-Lite only. AI Plus subscribers, who could previously use Pro, will be restricted to Flash. Gemini Pro now requires an AI Pro or AI Ultra subscription. AI Plus runs 725 yen per month, AI Pro 2,900 yen, and AI Ultra 14,500 yen.

Oct 3

Google Announces Gemini 4 Argon Frontier Model With 1 Million Token Output

Google announced Gemini 4 Argon on September 30, 2026, the first model in its Gemini 4 series. Google published benchmarks showing Argon leading on knowledge work, long-context processing, and business automation. On the Vals Index, Argon scored 68.9% against GPT-6 Astra's 63.1% and Claude Opus 5.5's 67.0%. On GraphWalks in the 256,000 to 1 million token range, Argon scored 84.2% against Astra's 71.8% and Opus 5.5's 66.8%. On AutomationBench, Argon scored 51.3% against Opus 5.5's 42.5% and Astra's 41.4%. Google did not release Argon to the public. It is being provided through the Fairwind Program to vetted cyber defense organizations and thousands of Google employees. Google plans to expand access in stages to paid API customers, Google AI Ultra users, developers, enterprises, and general users. Introductory pricing is $2 per 1 million input tokens and $10 per 1 million output tokens, rising to $4 and $20 after the introductory period.

Sep 3

Google Ships Gemini 3.8 Flash and Cyber Model, Prices Double in 2027

Google released Gemini 3.8 Flash and Gemini 3.8 Flash Cyber on September 2, 2026. The Flash model improves multi-step reasoning for software development and AI agents, while the Cyber model handles vulnerability discovery and fixing. API prices stay flat until January 1, 2027, when they double.

Aug 29

Google Releases Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash Video Generation AI

Google released Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash, a video generation AI, on August 27, 2026. It supports text-to-video, image start/end frame generation, reference video input, and seamless continuation of existing videos. It offers fast 360p previews, 720p final generation, and upscaling to 4K. In Arena tests, it ranked first in text-to-video and second in image-to-video.

Aug 28

Google Unveils Gemini 3.5 Transcribe Speech Model

Google announced Gemini 3.5 Transcribe, a speech recognition model that converts raw audio into clean, formatted text in real time while automatically removing filler words like "um" and "uh." The model also reflects speaker self-corrections and applies formatting such as bullet points and parentheses, turning rambling speech into polished prose. It is available through two APIs: the Live API for continuous bidirectional streaming with sub-second latency, and the Interactions API for recorded audio with speaker identification and word-level timestamps. Google reports a word error rate of 4.0% for streaming and 2.6% for non-streaming, as measured by Artificial Analysis, and a 70% reduction in time to final transcription compared to the earlier Chirp 3 model. The model supports over 85 languages and allows custom vocabulary for technical terms. Gemini 3.5 Transcribe is already integrated into Android's Rambler voice input and the macOS Gemini app's Speak to Window feature. Developers can access it through Google AI Studio, Google Antigravity, and the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform. Pricing is estimated at about $0.005 per minute for recorded audio and $0.009 per minute for real-time, with free tiers available.

Aug 12

Google Gemini Passes 1 Billion Monthly Users

Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced that the company's AI assistant Gemini has surpassed 1 billion monthly active users, making it the 14th Google product to reach that milestone and the fastest-growing in the company's history. The announcement came via a post on X. Gemini launched in 2023 and has since been integrated across nearly all Google services, including Search, Workspace, and Android. The 1 billion figure applies to the Gemini app alone and does not include users of Google Search's AI mode, which Google says also exceeds 1 billion monthly users. Google also released usage data showing that 63 percent of Gemini users interact with the assistant directly by voice, the app generates over 150 million images per day, and iOS active users exceed 100 million. The company reported Gemini's daily active users have roughly tripled over the past year. This growth follows ChatGPT reaching 1 billion monthly users in June, and Google is expected to announce new Gemini features at its upcoming Made by Google event.

Aug 9

Google DeepMind Unveils Gemini Robotics 2 for Whole-Body Robot Control

Google DeepMind announced Gemini Robotics 2 on July 30, 2026, a suite of Vision-Language-Action models that control robots from walking to fine two-handed tasks. The models handle posture, object manipulation, and multi-robot collaboration, adapting to different robot bodies. A higher-level model, Gemini Robotics ER 2, manages long task sequences and outperformed its predecessor in evaluations.

Aug 6

Dragon Quest Meets Gemini AI in Real-World Shibuya Event

Google launched Gemini Quest on July 30, a free collaboration with Square Enix's Dragon Quest that runs through August 9. The event places monster statues across four Shibuya and Harajuku venues, where participants use the Gemini app to generate images of themselves battling monsters. An online social activation lets remote users generate Dragon Quest-style images and share them with the #GeminiQuest hashtag.

Jul 1

Google Launches Nano Banana 2 Lite Image Model and Gemini Omni Flash Video Model

Google announced Nano Banana 2 Lite, an image generation model that outputs images from text in 4 seconds, and Gemini Omni Flash, a video generation and editing model. Both are available on Google AI Studio, Gemini API, and Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform. Pricing starts at $0.034 per 1K resolution image and $0.10 per second of video output.

Jun 11

Gemini X Is a New Metroidvania Built for Mega Man X Fans

Komi Games announced Gemini X, a Metroidvania inspired by classic 32-bit run-and-gun platformers like Mega Man X. Players explore a hijacked space colony, fight robot rebels, and see the story change based on boss defeat order. A Steam release is planned for 2028, with a demo coming later.