This is a submission for the Google I/O Writing Challenge
Introduction
Google I/O 2026 just wrapped up, and as expected, the announcements were packed with futuristic ideas—Android XR smart glasses, cinematic video generation, and other flashy demos that usually dominate the headlines.
But the update that actually stood out to me wasn’t the most visually impressive. It was something much more practical: Gemini 3.5 Flash.
As someone who spends a lot of time learning, coding, and building projects, I’ve used enough AI assistants to notice a pattern. Today’s models are incredibly powerful—but they’re also heavy. And that weight shows up in one very specific way: latency.
