Google Nears Gemini 4 Launch in Early 2026 as Rivals Outpace Gemini 3
Updated
Updated · The Verge · Sep 24
Google Nears Gemini 4 Launch in Early 2026 as Rivals Outpace Gemini 3
3 articles · Updated · The Verge · Sep 24
Summary
Gemini 4 is in refinement and Google aims to release an early post-training version much earlier than end-2026, new DeepMind chief Koray Kavukcuoglu said in his first media interview since taking the role.
Google is accelerating because it has not shipped a new flagship model since the Gemini 3 series in November 2025, while OpenAI's GPT-6 and Anthropic's Mythos models have since pulled ahead.
Kavukcuoglu said Google paused the planned Gemini 3.5 Pro rollout to focus on faster, less powerful Flash models, despite Sundar Pichai saying in May that a major 3.5 Pro update would arrive in June.
The push for a quicker Gemini 4 debut follows a DeepMind leadership shakeup after Demis Hassabis stepped down in August, and will test Google's claim it can still stay at the AI frontier.