Hi everyone, I’m Japanese and using Gemini to translate this, so please excuse any awkward phrasing.
I might be mistaken, but I noticed something unusual while using the "Flash" (fast) model today. Previously, I had never seen this, but while I was playing around with some prompts, a hidden reasoning/thought process suddenly appeared—much like what you’d see in the Flash Thinking or Pro models.
Historically, the standard Flash model hasn’t shown these "hidden" reasoning steps (unlike the dedicated Thinking models). Since Flash—specifically the "Fast" model—is supposed to be a "no-frills" high-speed engine, this really caught me off guard.
I’ve also noticed that Google Search queries are now being displayed correctly. It feels like Google is making some significant under-the-hood updates to Gemini as a whole, including the Fast models.
Do you think Google is trying to introduce a lightweight reasoning process to the Fast model to improve its output quality? For a long time, the Fast model has been prone to hallucinations, so I'm hoping this addition will help reduce them, even if just a little.
I've seen the thought process appear in various scenarios, from creative writing to complex simulations. I plan to experiment more to see if there's a noticeable difference in response quality depending on whether the thought process is triggered or not.
I’d love to hear if anyone else has seen this!