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Gemini 3 Flash: Frontier intelligence built for speed

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Re: Gemini 3 Flash: Frontier intelligence built for speed

#91

Post by azuanrb »

bgirard wrote: post #45
simonsarris wrote: post #10

Even before this release the tools (for me: Claude Code and Gemini for other stuff) reached a "good enough" plateau that means any other company is going to have a hard time making me (I think soon most users) want to switch. Unless a new release from a different company has a real paradigm shift, they're simply sufficient. This was not true in 2023/2024 IMO. With this release the "good enough" and "cheap enough" int…

Why wouldn't you switch? The cost to switch is near zero for me. Some tools have built in model selectors. Direct CLI/IDE plug-ins practically the same UI.

Not OP, but I feel the same way. Cost is just one of the factor. I'm used to Claude Code UX, my CLAUDE.md works well with my workflow too. Unless there's any significant improvement, changing to new models every few months is going to hurt me more.

Re: Gemini 3 Flash: Frontier intelligence built for speed

#92

Post by peheje »

caminanteblanco wrote: post #77

Does anyone else understand what the difference is between Gemini 3 'Thinking' and 'Pro'? Thinking "Solves complex problems" and Pro "Thinks longer for advanced math & code". I assume that these are just different reasoning levels for Gemini 3, but I can't even find mention of there being 2 versions anywhere, and the API doesn't even mention the Thinking-Pro dichotomy.

I think:

Fast = Gemini 3 Flash without thinking (or very low thinking budget)

Thinking = Gemini 3 flash with high thinking budget

Pro = Gemini 3 Pro with thinking

Re: Gemini 3 Flash: Frontier intelligence built for speed

#95

Post by djeastm »

sv123 wrote: post #81
bearjaws wrote: post #25

I've been using the preview flash model exclusively since it came out, the speed and quality of response is all I need at the moment. Although still using Claude Code w/ Opus 4.5 for dev work. Google keeps their models very "fresh" and I tend to get more correct answers when asking about Azure or O365 issues, ironically copilot will talk about now deleted or deprecated features more often.

I've found copilot within the Azure portal to be basically useless for solving most problems.

Me too. I don't understand why companies think we devs need a custom chat on their website when we all have access to a chat with much smarter models open in a different tab.

Re: Gemini 3 Flash: Frontier intelligence built for speed

#96

Post by kingstnap »

jtrn wrote: post #63

This is the first flash/mini model that doesn't make a complete ass of itself when I prompt for the following: "Tell me as much as possible about Skatval in Norway. Not general information. Only what is uniquely true for Skatval." Skatval is a small local area I live in, so I know when it's bullshitting. Usually, I get a long-winded answer that is PURE Barnum-statement, like "Skatval is a rural area known for its bea…

You are effectively describing SimpleQA but with a single question instead of a comprehensive benchmark and you can note the dramatic increase in performance there.

Re: Gemini 3 Flash: Frontier intelligence built for speed

#97

Post by thecupisblue »

fariszr wrote: post #7

These flash models keep getting more expensive with every release. Is there an OSS model that's better than 2.0 flash with similar pricing, speed and a 1m context window? Edit: this is not the typical flash model, it's actually an insane value if the benchmarks match real world usage. > Gemini 3 Flash achieves a score of 78%, outperforming not only the 2.5 series, but also Gemini 3 Pro. It strikes an ideal balance fo…

Yes, but the 3.0 Flash is cheaper, faster and better than 2.5 Pro.

So if 2.5 Pro was good for your usecase, you just got a better model for about 1/3rd of the price, but might hurt the wallet a bit more if you use 2.5 Flash currently and want an upgrade - which is fair tbh.

Re: Gemini 3 Flash: Frontier intelligence built for speed

#98

Post by freedomben »

samyok wrote: post #4

Don’t let the “flash” name fool you, this is an amazing model. I have been playing with it for the past few weeks, it’s genuinely my new favorite; it’s so fast and it has such a vast world knowledge that it’s more performant than Claude Opus 4.5 or GPT 5.2 extra high, for a fraction (basically order of magnitude less!!) of the inference time and price

Cool! I've been using 2.5 flash and it is pretty bad. 1 out of 5 answers it gives will be a lie. Hopefully 3 is better

Re: Gemini 3 Flash: Frontier intelligence built for speed

#99

Post by epolanski »

samyok wrote: post #4

Don’t let the “flash” name fool you, this is an amazing model. I have been playing with it for the past few weeks, it’s genuinely my new favorite; it’s so fast and it has such a vast world knowledge that it’s more performant than Claude Opus 4.5 or GPT 5.2 extra high, for a fraction (basically order of magnitude less!!) of the inference time and price

Gemini 2.0 flash was good already for some tasks of mine long time ago..

Re: Gemini 3 Flash: Frontier intelligence built for speed

#100

Post by catigula »

simonsarris wrote: post #10

Even before this release the tools (for me: Claude Code and Gemini for other stuff) reached a "good enough" plateau that means any other company is going to have a hard time making me (I think soon most users) want to switch. Unless a new release from a different company has a real paradigm shift, they're simply sufficient. This was not true in 2023/2024 IMO. With this release the "good enough" and "cheap enough" int…

Correct. Opus 4.5 'solved' software engineering. What more do I need? Businesses need uncapped intelligence, and that is a very high bar. Individuals often don't.
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