Google’s IO conference took place last night. The company showcased all sorts of things that South Africans won’t ever receive, but the joy of AI is that it can be accessed from anywhere. As with most things, the search company reckons it’ll get better if you pay for it.
Gemini 2.5, the upgraded version of the company’s newest AI service, is leaving Preview and heading to general availability. It must be good, because Google is punting a monthly subscription for the AI assistant. $250/m isn’t too much to ask, right?
What the hell, Google?
Two versions of the model, Gemini Flash and Gemini Pro, are heading to devices, but that’s not the hair-raising bit. The company is also launching Google AI Ultra, a R4,500 ($250) subscription service that far outstrips the previous AI Pro’s $20 (R360) monthly cost.
For the money, subscribers get increased access to the company’s AI models, including “increased access” (read: unlimited access) to Flow and Whisk, the service’s film and image-to-video tools. There are a few other perks — YouTube Premium is included in the price, as is 30TB of cloud storage. Early access to Project Mariner, a multitasking tool, and removed limits for Gemini in the company’s other products (like Docs and Gmail), as well as NotebookLM, are included.
That’s likely too high for most AI users, no matter how well the search company talks up the performance of Gemini 2.5. Improved efficiency and conversational skills, access to Deep Think (an enhanced model for math and coding), and the other tweaks and performance increases are unlikely to excite most enough to plunk down a moderate car payment each month for unlimited access. At least, that’s the case here at home.
Which is fine, South Africans… don’t have access just yet. Google AI Ultra has launched in the States, at a promotional cost of $125 (R2,250) per month for the first three months, with access coming to other countries later. That gives you enough time to figure out whether handing Google all that money is worth it.
