Google Launches Gemini 4 Hydrogen, Its 2.5× Faster AI Model
Google has officially launched Gemini 4 Hydrogen, its newest and fastest AI model. The global rollout began on November 12, 2026, across the Gemini app, Google Search, Google AI Studio, and the Gemini API.
Positioned as the successor to Gemini 3.8 Flash, Hydrogen is the first model in this lineup to drop the “Flash” name, marking a new chapter in Google’s AI model family.
According to Google, Hydrogen completes tasks 2.5 times faster than its predecessor at the default reasoning setting and reduces hallucinations—fabricated or incorrect AI responses—by more than five times. On the independent Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, Hydrogen scores 51 points, one point above the larger Gemini 4 Argon model.
The model supports text, image, audio, and video inputs. Google Cloud users can also directly ingest Office and OpenDocument files.
Hydrogen is available at no cost through:
- The free tier in Google AI Studio and the Gemini API
- Google Search for general users
For developers on paid tiers, pricing is $1.50 per million input tokens and $7.50 per million output tokens, with the same rates across its 1 million-token context window.
The model offers four thinking levels—low, medium, high, and xhigh—so users can adjust the balance between speed, quality, and cost.
Sources: VentureBeat | Google Official Blog