Gemini 4 Argon

2026-10-07

MODELS · 1 SOURCE · The Decoder

Google releases Nano Banana 2.1 image model and halves generation prices

Google released Nano Banana 2.1, an image-generation and editing model running on Gemini 3.6 Flash that the company says improves visual quality, text rendering, character consistency, wide panoramas, and infographics while supporting up to 14 reference images and keeping up to four characters and ten objects consistent. Google also cut Nano Banana pricing roughly in half (for example, 1K images from 6.70¢ to 3.36¢), is rolling 2.1 out across products including the Gemini app, AI Mode in Google Search, Google AI Studio, Flow and Stitch, and will shut down the prior gemini-3.1-flash-image model on October 29, 2026.

8.0

2026-10-06

MODELS · 2 SOURCES · The Decoder · The Verge AI

Google limits Gemini access: free users cut to Flash‑Lite; Pro moved behind paid tiers

Starting in October 2026 Google will restrict personal-account access to its Gemini models: unpaid users will only have the smallest model, Flash‑Lite; AI Plus ($4.99/month) subscribers will be limited to Flash‑Lite and Flash; access to Flash and Pro models will require AI Pro ($19.99/month) or AI Ultra ($99.99/$199.99/month). The change reduces the free-tier model availability compared with current access (which includes Gemini 3.6 Flash and varying 3.1 Pro access) and mirrors a freemium approach similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT.

6.0

2026-10-02

MODELS · 5 SOURCES · Google DeepMind · The Verge AI · The Decoder · TechCrunch AI · Google

Google DeepMind unveils Gemini 4 Argon, a frontier model with 1M-token context

Google DeepMind announced Gemini 4 Argon, a new frontier multimodal model optimized for long-horizon reasoning and complex workflows. Argon is rolling out initially to trusted cyber defenders via the Fairwind Program, expands context length to 1 million tokens, reports leading benchmark performance across coding, finance, legal, and video understanding, and will be made more widely available after phased safety testing and engagement with U.S. government pre-release processes; Google also published introductory pricing.

9.0

2026-09-30

COMPANIES · 2 SOURCES · Google · TechCrunch AI

Google named technology partner for White House's America.gov, will use Gemini

Google says it has been named a technology partner for the White House’s newly announced America.gov front door and will leverage its Gemini model to help more than 100 million people access federal services. Google frames the collaboration as supporting the administration’s digital modernization to make public services more seamless and accessible.

9.0