Google is expected to release the next version of its Gemini family of AI models early next month, but according to Testing Catalog, it could be coming sooner than expected.
Gemini was first announced in December 2023, replacing the Bard chatbot and becoming the default model across all Google products. Since then, version 1.5 has been released, and multiple smaller upgrades have been made, but it looks like Gemini 2 is just around the corner.
Alexey Shabanov of Testing Catalog reports finding a new "experimental model" listed under the model menu in the Gemini web app. It was under the Gemini Advanced options and labeled as "With 2.0-Pro-Exp-0111." It isn’t clear if this is actually Gemini 2 or a mistake in labeling.
In his testing, Shabanov reports that it is "lightning fast" but may not be "fully baked" as it failed some basic tests including identifying the number of times "r" appears in the word strawberry.
What do we know about Gemini 2?
BREAKING 🚨: Google is preparing to launch a new model: Gemini-2.0-Pro-Exp-0111! This model will appear under the Advanced section but it is unclear if it is aimed at an internal testing group or a public launch. Any good prompts you want me to try? 👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/SMG2ZfAIxNNovember 7, 2024
We know very little about Gemini 2 as AI labs, including those funded by large tech companies, tend to hold those details close to their chests until all training and testing is complete. However, we're getting a brief insight thanks to leaks and some early external testing gone awry.
Gemini 2 is likely going to have some reasoning capabilities, similar to OpenAI’s o1 family of models. It will also power "Project Jarvis", a new agent system set to be built into Chrome that will allow you to perform common web tasks by using natural language prompts.
Previous reports suggested it would be released in the first week of December, a year after the release of Gemini 1. This makes sense and would be around the time we're expecting a major ChatGPT upgrade (to coincide with its second anniversary).
If Gemini 2 follows recent trends from Google it will come in two versions initially, Gemini 2 Flash for very fast, lower-level responses and then Gemini 2 Pro for more advanced output. If the leak is anything to go by, it looks like even Pro will get a speed upgrade.
