Google Source conflict

Gemini’s recommended image preview is past its announced shutdown date.

October 2 is an earliest shutdown date. The recommended preview has its own, earlier shutdown notice.

Documentation reviewed · No live product test

The next move

Resolve the replacement discrepancy before changing the production model ID.

What the vendor says

Google lists October 2, 2026 as the earliest shutdown for gemini-2.5-flash-image and recommends gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview. Its May 28 release note schedules that preview’s shutdown for June 25, 2026.

Sources: Gemini API deprecations · Gemini API release notes

Why it matters

Following the replacement column alone can lead you to a target whose announced shutdown date has passed. These sources do not support an unqualified migration recommendation.

AI-Buzz suggested checks

Turn the notice into a task.

  1. Confirm whether your application uses the Gemini API or a different Google surface such as Vertex AI.
  2. Check the linked deprecation table and release note together. The table also points from the preview to gemini-3.1-flash-image; treat that as a candidate to verify.
  3. Confirm availability and compatibility for your account and workload before committing to a migration target.

Unresolved source guidance

Google labels these dates as earliest possible shutdowns, not guaranteed exact deadlines. We have not tested endpoint availability. Replacement guidance remains unresolved in this reading.

Read the original sources

AI-Buzz checked these pages on 9 Sept 2026. This is our reading on that date. The linked pages can change; we do not reconstruct earlier versions from today’s text.

  1. Gemini API deprecations Earliest-date qualification; gemini-2.5-flash-image and gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview rows
    Review receipt
    Retrieved
    2026-09-09T11:11:22.082306Z
    Response SHA-256
    04435c903c4d0139477c63786d21d34efe24ee9d58048a2fd2c5dba049e91dae

    Manual review. Full source bytes were not retained. A hash cannot recover the page or establish when its wording changed.

  2. Gemini API release notes May 28, 2026 preview shutdown announcement
    Review receipt
    Retrieved
    2026-09-09T11:11:22.095743Z
    Response SHA-256
    e50ad4526d2262f432870f0b847bcdde8534990d7317868e2ff9fcf25e1c9650

    Manual review. Full source bytes were not retained. A hash cannot recover the page or establish when its wording changed.

Evidence and correction policy