Free Gemini accounts lose Flash and Pro access on 9 October
Google is changing model access in the Gemini app for personal accounts. Starting on 9 October, unpaid users can use only Flash-Lite, losing Flash and Pro. AI Plus subscribers also lose Pro, with account-specific timing to be emailed. AI Pro and AI Ultra keep their existing models, and AI Pro gains Deep Think. Google also plans effort settings this month that offer more detailed answers while consuming more of a user’s allowance.
Artificial Intelligence··Midday
Free accounts lose two models
A personal Gemini account without a Google AI subscription will be restricted to Flash-Lite starting on 9 October. Access to Flash and Pro will end for those users. The change concerns the models available inside the Gemini app, rather than the launch of a new model. Both 9to5Google and Storyboard18 describe the revised access arrangements. Abner Li at 9to5Google identifies the affected models as 3.6 Flash and 3.1 Pro, with 3.5 Flash-Lite remaining available.[1], [2]
AI Plus subscribers will also lose Pro, while keeping Flash-Lite and Flash. Google says they will receive an email with the timing for their own accounts. That separates the announced 9 October start for unpaid users from the account-specific notice for Plus. Li puts the revision after May’s move to compute-based usage limits, when the allowance began reflecting processing load.[1], [2]
AI Pro gains Deep Think
Google AI Pro and AI Ultra retain access to all three existing models. AI Pro also gains Deep Think, which Storyboard18 describes as reasoning through several possibilities before producing a response. The option had previously been confined to the monthly plans costing 99.99 dollars and 199.99 dollars; it now reaches AI Pro at 19.99 dollars a month. The smaller AI Plus plan, listed at 4.99 dollars, is the paid tier losing Pro access.[1], [2]
More reasoning will consume more of the allowance
During October, Google plans low, medium and high effort controls for each available model. These are intended to give users a choice over how much reasoning goes into a task. More intensive settings aim to produce fuller answers, but use a larger share of the allowance. The app currently offers extended thinking for complex problems. Li says the proposed controls match those already offered in Google AI Studio and Antigravity.[1], [2]
Storyboard18 names Pro, Deep Research, media generation and extended thinking among the features that use the allowance more quickly. The classification of Gemini 4 Argon remains uncertain. Its initial availability is tied to AI Ultra, but Google has not specified whether it will count as a Pro model or belong to a category above Pro. The revised table does not resolve that classification.[1], [2]
