Google's Gemini 3.5 Pro Is Months Late - Coding Benchmarks Fell Short
Bloomberg's sources say a training data update failed to hit internal targets - and the delay could stretch for months more.
Gemini 3.5 Pro has no launch date. Google is months behind schedule on its most capable frontier model, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing unnamed insiders who say a deliberate push to improve coding performance backfired on the team. Gemini 3.5 Flash and Flash-Lite both shipped months ago. Right now, only Gemini 3.1 Pro is available to subscribers - the 3.5 Pro slot on the model picker sits empty, leaving Google without an answer to rivals that have shipped new frontier tiers in recent weeks.
Google Updated Its Training Data for Coding - and the Results Fell Short
Google revised the training data it feeds Gemini models specifically to push coding ability higher. Benchmarks fell short of internal targets. Bloomberg's sources described the gap as significant enough to halt release - not a minor tuning issue but a fundamental rethink of the training approach. Outside pressure has made the internal timeline worse. GPT-5.6 and Meta's recent model releases have both posted strong coding benchmark scores, leaving Google holding a product it cannot yet stand behind publicly.
Paying Subscribers Have Fewer Reasons to Stay the Longer Google Waits
Paying for Gemini Pro right now is a bet. Google had already set a July 17 target for Gemini 3.5 Pro - today's date - and missed it. Free users tend to stay put. Paying subscribers are different - each renewal cycle is a moment to compare what they get against what a rival charges for a more capable model, and every month of delay sharpens that question.
Google's response, provided to Bloomberg, confirms testing is ongoing but offers no timeline: "We're shipping quickly across a wide range of models while keeping them highly cost-effective for customers. We're currently testing 3.5 Pro, an upgraded Flash model, and other models with partners, and we're productively engaged with the US government on model testing and broader frameworks." No release window appears in that language, and "productively engaged with the US government" suggests evaluation requirements that could add their own timeline.
Google Has Recovered From Worse Positions - but Not Without Cost
Google has been here before. ChatGPT's 2023 launch caught Google mid-iteration, cycling through PaLM and Bard while scrambling to respond, and it recovered - at real cost to its early reputation in AI. A delay of months is recoverable. Gemini 3.5 Pro may follow the same pattern, shipping later and stronger than the original plan called for. No new deadline has appeared in any public communication from Google.