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Public story · 2026-07-19 · high
Coding benchmarks still trail GPT-5.6, and Google registered two stopgap Flash model names to hold the field.
Why now: 9to5Google's report landed July 16, and as of July 19 Gemini 3.5 Pro still has no announced launch date.
Google's Gemini 3.5 Pro has missed its third launch deadline, slipping past July 17 with no new date, according to Bloomberg-sourced reporting relayed by 9to5Google.
That's the third delay since an original June target, and it matters for anyone weighing Gemini against GPT-5.6 for coding. Google's flagship still hasn't closed that gap, and now it doesn't even have a date to aim for.
The reason is code. Coding benchmarks for the model still trail OpenAI's GPT-5.6, per the reporting. A retraining data refresh aimed at closing that gap came up short. The same reporting flags hallucination and output-consistency problems on top of the benchmark miss.
While the flagship stalls, Google has registered model names for a Gemini 3.6 Flash and a 3.5 Flash Light. Nothing has shipped under either name yet, but the filings read like a stopgap, something to point to while Pro isn't ready.
Registering placeholder Flash model names while the Pro release keeps slipping shows Google buying time on a coding gap with GPT-5.6 it still hasn't closed. Watch whether either Flash variant ships before Pro does. That would confirm it's cover instead of a coincidence.
The delay became public through 9to5Google's July 16 report. As of July 19, Gemini 3.5 Pro still has no date attached.
Each link below shares sources, entities, or timing with this story.
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