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Google rolls out Gemini 4 Hydrogen, finally replacing 3.8 Flash
Ars Technica • • general
Key Points:
- Google has introduced Gemini 4 Hydrogen, replacing the faster and more economical Flash models previously used across its ecosystem, with immediate access for users.
- Hydrogen offers significant performance improvements, running up to 2.5 times faster than Flash 3.8 and reducing fabricated claims by over five times, while also excelling in code generation benchmarks.
- The model operates at four thinking levels, including a new "xhigh" mode, and competes closely with Google's Argon model in AI performance indices.
- Hydrogen is integrated into Google Search, enhancing AI-powered search capabilities with better handling of multipart questions and more visual response elements, marking the largest update to Google's AI search tools.
- Access to Hydrogen is available for AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in the Gemini app and AI Studio, while free and AI Plus users remain on older models; API pricing remains unchanged, though prices for other models like Carbon and Argon will increase next month.
