Google’s Gemini 2.0 update could be happening fairly soon

When Google introduced Gemini 1.0 Pro last December, it felt like a big shift in the AI landscape, with Bard (remember it being called that?) getting a serious upgrade and the Pixel 8 Pro being the first to showcase Gemini Nano. Then, we got 1.0 Ultra in Gemini Advanced in February 2024, followed by the massively-improved context window of Gemini 1.5 a few months later. AI is progressing fast on all fronts, and Google’s been on a pretty good tear over the past year, pushing the boundaries of what their own AI can do.

Now, according to The Verge (via 9to5 Google), Gemini 2.0 is on the horizon, with a possible launch date as early as this December. It is being reported that Google’s aiming for a wide release, and that likely means a two-pronged approach with something for developers to tinker with and something new for us regular folks to use, too.

Of course, Google isn’t the only player in this AI arms race. OpenAI is also rumored to be prepping a new flagship model for a December release, though they’ve been pretty tight-lipped about the details. If things play out right, it could mean a very interesting close to the year in the race for better, more-powerful AI models.

I’m hoping this new release finally delivers Project Astra, Google’s ambitious plan to give Gemini camera and vision capabilities that was teased at Google I/O 2024. Imagine a world where your AI can “see” and interact with the world around you. That’s the kind of future Google seems to be building, and Gemini 2.0 could be a big step in that direction. We’ll be keeping an eye out for any further details around Gemini 2.0 and keep you posted when we hear more.