Friday, February 21, 2025

Gemini app removes old 1.5 Flash and 1.5 Pro models

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As previously announced, Google has removed the 1.5 family of models from the Gemini app following the launch of 2.0 Flash. 

Almost three weeks after the stable Gemini 2.0 Flash launch, Google on Tuesday removed 1.5 Flash and 1.5 Pro from the web, Android, and iOS. Gemini 1.5 Pro launched last May and 1.5 Flash came to the app in July. They were previously described as such in the model picker: 

  • 1.5 Pro: Tackle complex tasks
  • 1.5 Flash: Get everyday help 

2.0 Flash is “For everyday tasks,” with all free and paid users now on that model. Gemini Advanced subscribers get “more features” like the 1 million token context window (up to 1,500 pages) for file uploads, creating custom Gems, Saved Info, Recall, and Deep Research, which is still using 1.5 Pro.

It’s somewhat interesting that Google removed 1.5 Pro before bringing 2.0 Pro out of preview. The current experimental version “lacks access to real-time info and some Gemini features,” like file upload. (Of note is how the API version for developers has a 2 million token context window.) 

That said, 2.0 Flash officially outperforms 1.5 Pro across code, factuality, math, reasoning, and other benchmarks at twice the speed. 

As a Gemini Advanced subscriber, the model picker is as follows:

  • 2.0 Flash: For everyday tasks, plus more features
  • 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental: Best for multi-step reasoning
  • 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental with apps: Reasoning across YouTube, Maps & Search
  • 2.0 Pro Experimental: Best for complex tasks
  • 1.5 Pro with Deep Research: Get in-depth answers

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