Google Delays Gemini 3.5 Pro to July After Enterprise Tester Feedback
Written by
NextStair
Google has pushed the Gemini 3.5 Pro launch from June to July 2026, citing real-world tester feedback and the need to refine performance on long-horizon agentic tasks before a wider release.
June Launch Window Slips to July
Google has delayed the general availability of Gemini 3.5 Pro to July 2026, after originally targeting a June release at its I/O developer conference in May.
At Google I/O 2026 on May 19, CEO Sundar Pichai asked developers to "give us until next month to get it to you." June passed without a public launch.
Google declined to comment when asked about the revised schedule. The July window is based on reporting from Business Insider citing a person familiar with the matter, not an official Google announcement.
Why Google Delayed the Launch
The company is collecting feedback from early users who tested Gemini 3.5 Pro through Google's Antigravity development platform and the AI benchmarking service LMArena.
Engineers are using that feedback to improve the model's performance on complex, multi-step agentic tasks before a broader rollout.
Google is also applying lessons learned from shipping Gemini 3.5 Flash, which drew criticism from some enterprise users for consuming tokens too quickly during extended tasks.
What Gemini 3.5 Pro Is Expected to Offer
Enterprise preview customers on Vertex AI can already apply for early access to the model.
Confirmed specs include a 2 million token context window, double what most competing models currently offer, along with a Deep Think reasoning mode designed for demanding analytical work.
Google positions Gemini 3.5 Pro as its answer to Claude Opus 4.8 and GPT-5.6 Sol for the hardest enterprise tasks.
Pricing is expected to sit significantly above Gemini 3.5 Flash, with output costs reported at $60 per million tokens, roughly ten times the Flash rate.
Pressure Behind the Delay
The timing is not straightforward for Google.
In the same week the June target was missed, multiple senior Gemini researchers announced they were joining Anthropic, adding outside pressure to what would otherwise be a routine schedule adjustment.
Coding performance remains a gap Google is working to close. Despite Gemini 3.5 Flash outperforming Gemini 3.1 Pro on agentic benchmarks, both OpenAI and Anthropic continue to lead in software development, which has become the primary enterprise use case for frontier AI models.
What Developers Should Do Now
Gemini 3.5 Flash remains generally available and is the right choice for most production workloads today.
Developers with genuine long-context requirements can apply for enterprise preview access through Vertex AI ahead of the public launch.
Google has missed more than one delivery target in 2026, so July should be treated as current guidance rather than a fixed commitment when planning roadmaps.