From 9 October 2026, free users of the Gemini app will only have access to the Flash-Lite model, according to Google's support page and 9to5Google. Access to Gemini Flash and Gemini Pro will be removed for them.
Highlights
- From 9 October, free users get only Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite; Flash and Pro are removed.
- AI Plus subscribers (about $4.99 a month) keep Flash-Lite and Flash, but lose Pro.
- AI Pro and AI Ultra users see no change in model access.
- The app adds low, medium and high effort settings; higher settings use more of a user's limit.
AI Plus subscribers, who pay about $4.99 per month, will keep Flash-Lite and Flash but lose Pro. The app is also adding low, medium and high effort settings, which use more of a user's limit at higher levels. There are no changes in model access for AI Pro and AI Ultra users; things stay as they were before 9 October 2026.
The change has not gone down well. Users have raised concerns on Google's Gemini community forum, calling it unfair and saying it limits what they can do for study and research.
