Google's Gemini 4 Hydrogen: 2.5x faster, but free users need auto-select

Google launched Gemini 4 Hydrogen on November 12, 2026, and the pitch is speed, not extra brainpower. At its default High thinking level, it finishes tasks 2.5 times faster than 3.8 Flash, according to the official blog. Google frames Carbon and Argon as the models that think hard about the toughest problems, while Hydrogen is built to get everyday work done quickly and is the recommended migration target from 3.8 Flash.

On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, Hydrogen scores 51 points at that same High setting, inching past Argon's 50. A new xhigh level pushes it to 54. Reasoning now comes in four stages: Low, Medium, High and xhigh, with High as Hydrogen's default, while Carbon and Argon start at Medium and cap out at High. Google DeepMind's announcement post on X had pulled 6,804 likes, 756 bookmarks and roughly 1.3 million views by 11:00 PM Japan time on November 13.

Inside Google Antigravity, a new Orchestrator can switch between Carbon and Hydrogen mid-task. Google says one test held a success rate close to Carbon while using 24% less on average and wrapping up 19% faster. Trying that requires a paid Google AI Pro or Ultra subscription.

Free access comes with conditions. Search gets Hydrogen for all users and is rolling out globally, but in the Gemini app free users only get it when automatic model selection is switched on, and most questions are still routed to the lighter Flash-Lite. Turn auto-select off and everything runs on Flash-Lite. Picking Hydrogen by hand takes a plan: Plus reaches Hydrogen, Pro reaches Argon and Ultra reaches Carbon, per English help docs confirmed November 13.

Developers can reach Hydrogen through both the free and paid tiers of Google AI Studio and the Gemini API. The paid rate is $1.50 per million input tokens and $7.50 per million output tokens, flat across the whole input range up to 1 million tokens, and thinking tokens are billed as output. The free tier carries rate limits, though Google's page only points readers to a separate rate-limits page for the numbers.

Check which help page you are reading. The English docs already listed Hydrogen on the evening of November 13, while the Japanese version still carried the old Flash notation and no Hydrogen. Gemini in Sheets starts with Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers, and access for work or school accounts depends on the Workspace contract. The model behind any reply can be checked in the response details.