gemini-2.5-flash-lite — Available — shutdown October 20, 2026 or No shutdown date announced — sources disagree
For gemini-2.5-flash-lite, provider is Google (Vertex AI); lifecycle status is Available; shutdown / retirement date is disputed: October 20, 2026 per cloud.google.com, No shutdown date announced per ai.google.dev; recommended replacement is gemini-3.8-flash or gemini-3.1-flash-lite or Gemma 4, recorded from its source on 2026-09-29; source re-checked 2026-10-13.
- Provider
- Google (Vertex AI) our reading
- Google (Gemini Developer API) per ai.google.dev
- Model ID / API name
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite verified
- Lifecycle status
- Available
- Release date
- July 22, 2025 verified
- Shutdown / retirement date
- October 20, 2026 sources disagree
- Recommended replacement
- gemini-3.8-flash or gemini-3.1-flash-lite or Gemma 4 verified
- Platform / deployment scope
- Gemini Developer API (ai.google.dev) per ai.google.dev
Values marked our reading are our classification of what the source says — the source does not print them in those words. The quote below is the evidence for each one; judge it yourself.
What the source says
gemini-2.5-flash-lite | July 22, 2025 | October 20, 2026 | gemini-3.8-flash or gemini-3.1-flash-lite or Gemma 4 |
— cloud.google.com, retrieved 2026-09-29
Where each value comes from
The values above are stated away from the sentence quoted with the answer, so the passage that states them is shown here too.
Release date and Shutdown / retirement date
Model ID | Release date | Retirement date | Replacement model ID | gemini-4-argon | October 13, 2026 | No retirement date announced | | gemini-3.5-flash-lite | July 21, 2026 | July 21, 2027 or later | | gemini-3.5-flash | May 19, 2026 | May 19, 2027 or later | | gemini-3.1-flash-lite | May 7, 2026 | May 7, 2027 or later | | gemini-2.5-pro | June 17, 2025 | October 20, 2026 | gemini-3.8-flash or gemini-3.5-flash | gemini-2.5-flash | June 17, 2025 | October 20, 2026 | gemini-3.8-flash or gemini-3.5-flash-lite or gemini-3.1-flash-lite | gemini-2.5-flash-lite | July 22, 2025 | October 20, 2026 | gemini-3.8-flash or gemini-3.1-flash-lite or Gemma 4 |
— all from cloud.google.com, retrieved 2026-09-29
Sources disagree
More than one authority states this, and they do not state the same thing. Both are reproduced with the source each came from — deciding between them is yours, not ours.
Shutdown / retirement date
cloud.google.com says shutdown / retirement date is October 20, 2026, as of 2026-09-29.
gemini-2.5-flash-lite | July 22, 2025 | October 20, 2026 | gemini-3.8-flash or gemini-3.1-flash-lite or Gemma 4 |
https://cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/generative-ai/docs/learn/model-versioning
ai.google.dev says shutdown / retirement date is No shutdown date announced, as of 2026-09-16.
gemini-2.5-flash-lite | July 22, 2025 | No shutdown date announced | |
Where the other sources' values come from
These values were taken from a passage elsewhere on the other source's page, not from the row quoted with it above.
Release date
Model | Release date | Shutdown date | Recommended replacement | gemini-2.5-flash | June 17, 2025 | No shutdown date announced | | gemini-2.5-flash-lite | July 22, 2025 | No shutdown date announced | |
— ai.google.dev, retrieved 2026-09-16
Sources
- cloud.google.comhttps://cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/generative-ai/docs/learn/model-versioning
- ai.google.devhttps://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/deprecations