Google I/O 2026: Gemini 3.5 Flash, Gemini Spark agent and Antigravity 2.0
At Google I/O on 19 May 2026 Google launched Gemini 3.5 Flash (GA same day), claiming flagship-level coding and agentic performance (Terminal-Bench 2.1 76.2%, MCP Atlas 83.6%) at ~4x the output speed of other frontier models, plus the Gemini Spark always-on personal agent and Antigravity 2.0. Gemini 3.5 Pro was promised "next month" but was still unreleased by late September 2026.
Key facts
- Gemini 3.5 Flash GA 2026-05-19; became the model behind the gemini-flash-latest alias
- Terminal-Bench 2.1: 76.2%; GDPval-AA: 1656 Elo; MCP Atlas: 83.6% — Google says it beats Gemini 3.1 Pro on these
- Google: ~4x faster output tokens/s than other frontier models, often less than half the cost
- Reported API price: $1.50 input / $9.00 output per 1M tokens (third-party sources; 3.6 Flash launch coverage also cites $9 output)
- AI Mode in Search passed 1 billion monthly users; default model upgraded to Gemini 3.5 Flash
- Gemini Spark: autonomous personal agent, early beta for AI Ultra subscribers
- Antigravity 2.0 desktop app, CLI and SDK; Managed Agents API in public preview (antigravity-preview-05-2026)
- Android XR audio/AI glasses (Gentle Monster, Warby Parker, Samsung) announced for fall 2026
- Gemini 3.5 Pro: internal only, announced for 'next month' (June) — missed
What happened
Google's I/O 2026 keynote (19 May) introduced the Gemini 3.5 family with Gemini 3.5 Flash, generally available the same day in the Gemini app, AI Mode in Search, the Gemini API/AI Studio, Android Studio and Google Antigravity. Google positioned it as rivalling large flagship models on coding and agentic tasks at Flash speeds. Other launches: Gemini Spark (a 24/7 personal agent that acts on the user's behalf, checking before major actions), Antigravity 2.0 (agent-first IDE, CLI and SDK), a Managed Agents API, Search "information agents", Universal Cart, and Gemini Omni (see separate entry). Computer use for 3.5 Flash followed in public preview on 24 June.
Why it matters
3.5 Flash marked the moment Google's cheap tier overtook its previous flagship (3.1 Pro) on agentic coding benchmarks, and it opened a run of four Flash releases in ~106 days. The promised Gemini 3.5 Pro, however, missed its June target and several later ones — a delay that contributed to DeepMind's August leadership shake-up.
Changelog
- 2026-09-29: created
Related events
- Google unveils Gemini Omni, an any-to-any model that generates and conversationally edits video ★★★★
- Google releases Gemini 3.6 Flash, 3.5 Flash-Lite and 3.5 Flash Cyber — but no 3.5 Pro ★★★
- Google releases Gemini 3.8 Flash and Gemini 3.8 Flash Cyber ★★★★
- Google releases Gemini 3.1 Pro, scoring 77.1% on ARC-AGI-2 ★★★★
- Google launches 'Gemini for Science' at I/O 2026: Co-Scientist, AlphaEvolve and ERA become products ★★★
- Google DeepMind launches Gemini Robotics 2 family with whole-body humanoid control ★★★★
Sources (6)
- officialGemini 3.5: frontier intelligence with action (Google blog)
- official100 things we announced at Google I/O 2026
- officialAll the news from the Google I/O 2026 developer keynote
- officialGoogle Search I/O 2026 updates
- docsGemini API release notes (19 May 2026)
- pressMarkTechPost: Google introduces Gemini 3.5 Flash at I/O 2026
id: 2026-05-19-gemini-3-5-flash-io-2026 · updated 2026-09-29 · open in the interactive timeline