API
Google has deprecated its Gemini 2.5 models in the Gemini API and directs developers to Gemini 3.x replacements; as of the latest deprecations page only Gemini 2.5 Flash Image carries a shutdown date (2 October 2026), while 2.5 Pro, 2.5 Flash and 2.5 Flash-Lite are listed as deprecated with "No shutdown date announced"
departs 2 Oct 2026
Quick answers
- Is it true that Google Gemini 2.5 models deprecated in the Gemini API — only Gemini 2.5 Flash Image now has a shutdown date?
- Yes. Google has officially announced it, effective 2 Oct 2026. Google's official Gemini API deprecations page lists the whole Gemini 2.5 generation as deprecated and points each model at a Gemini 3.x successor.
- When does it take effect?
- 2 Oct 2026. Verified against the vendor's own announcement.
- What should I use instead?
- For gemini-2.5-flash-image, repoint image-generation calls to gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview before 2 October 2026 and validate output before the cutover — the successor still carries a "preview" label, so its behaviour can shift.
What this means for you
Google's official Gemini API deprecations page lists the whole Gemini 2.5 generation as deprecated and points each model at a Gemini 3.x successor. But only one of them now carries a firm shutdown date: Gemini 2.5 Flash Image (gemini-2.5-flash-image) is scheduled to stop being served on 2 October 2026, with gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview named as its replacement. The three text/multimodal models — gemini-2.5-pro, gemini-2.5-flash and gemini-2.5-flash-lite — are marked deprecated but their shutdown-date column now reads "No shutdown date announced." That is a change from earlier in 2026, when the page listed those three with a 16 October 2026 shutdown; Google has since removed that date rather than moved it, so the text models keep answering for now with no published end date. The practical read: if you call gemini-2.5-flash-image, you have a hard deadline of 2 October 2026; if you call the 2.5 text models, you are on a deprecated line with no announced cutoff — safe today, but flagged for migration whenever Google chooses to set a date.
Where to go
For gemini-2.5-flash-image, repoint image-generation calls to gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview before 2 October 2026 and validate output before the cutover — the successor still carries a "preview" label, so its behaviour can shift. For the deprecated text models (gemini-2.5-pro, gemini-2.5-flash, gemini-2.5-flash-lite), there is no forced date yet, but "deprecated" is Google's signal to plan the move: the named successors are gemini-3.1-pro-preview, gemini-3.6-flash and gemini-3.1-flash-lite respectively. Because these are different model generations, do not assume drop-in parity — output style, context limits, tool-use behaviour, latency and pricing all move between versions. Treat the deprecation as a prompt to test the 3.x models against your prompts now, so that whenever Google does announce a shutdown date for the text models you are already off them. Check the official deprecations page for the current dates rather than relying on a figure quoted elsewhere; Google has already changed this table once.
- gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview (Google's named replacement for Gemini 2.5 Flash Image — the one model with a firm 2 Oct 2026 shutdown)
- gemini-3.1-pro-preview (named replacement for the deprecated Gemini 2.5 Pro)
- gemini-3.6-flash (named replacement for the deprecated Gemini 2.5 Flash)
- gemini-3.1-flash-lite (named replacement for the deprecated Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite)
Google’s official Gemini API deprecations page lists the entire Gemini 2.5 model generation as deprecated, each pointed at a Gemini 3.x successor. But of the four headline 2.5 models, only one now carries a firm shutdown date.
Gemini 2.5 Flash Image (gemini-2.5-flash-image) is scheduled to stop being served on 2 October 2026, with gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview named as its replacement. That is the one hard deadline on this line.
The three text and multimodal models — gemini-2.5-pro, gemini-2.5-flash and gemini-2.5-flash-lite — are marked deprecated, but their shutdown-date column now reads “No shutdown date announced.” That is a change worth flagging plainly: earlier in 2026 the same page listed those three with a shutdown date of 16 October 2026. Google has since removed that date rather than pushed it out, so the 2.5 text models keep answering with no published end date. This entry originally recorded the 16 October date exactly as the page then stated it; it has been corrected here after re-checking the source.
What that means for you depends on which model you call. If you use gemini-2.5-flash-image, you have a real deadline — migrate to gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview before 2 October 2026, and test first, because the successor still wears a preview label and its behaviour can move. If you call the 2.5 text models, nothing breaks on a known date, but “deprecated” is Google’s way of telling you to plan the exit: the named successors are gemini-3.1-pro-preview, gemini-3.6-flash and gemini-3.1-flash-lite. These are different model generations, not drop-in swaps — output style, context limits, tool-use behaviour, latency and pricing all differ — so the sensible move is to validate the 3.x models against your prompts now, while there is no clock, rather than scrambling if and when Google sets a date.
One lasting lesson from this correction: on a fast-moving deprecations table, the primary source is the only date worth trusting. Google has already rewritten this one once. When you plan a migration, read the current page — not a figure quoted somewhere else, including here.
Entry changelog
- — last reviewed.
- — Entry created from Google's official Gemini API deprecations page (ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/deprecations). Recorded shutdown dates as then stated: Gemini 2.5 Pro / 2.5 Flash / 2.5 Flash-Lite on 16 October 2026, Gemini 2.5 Flash Image on 2 October 2026, each with a named 3.x successor. Dates recorded exactly as stated; the page then framed them as "earliest possible" retirement dates, noted in the entry rather than treated as guaranteed availability.
- — Correction after re-verification against the primary source. Google's deprecations page no longer lists a shutdown date for gemini-2.5-pro, gemini-2.5-flash or gemini-2.5-flash-lite — all three now read "No shutdown date announced." Only gemini-2.5-flash-image still carries a date (2 October 2026, successor gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview). Updated sunsetDate from 2026-10-16 to 2026-10-02 to reflect the one model that remains dated; reframed the entry so the three text models are described as deprecated-without-a-date rather than shutting down on 16 October. Removed the detect: fingerprints for the three text models (text:gemini-2.5-pro, text:gemini-2.5-flash, text:gemini-2.5-flash-lite) because a dateless deprecation must not fire a dated CLI warning; kept text:gemini-2.5-flash-image, the only model with a real cutoff. Every 2.5 model remains deprecated with a named 3.x successor.
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