How to use Gemini 3 right now on desktop and Android

Just eight months after Gemini 2.5 launched, Google has upgraded its AI models once again with the release of Gemini 3. Gemini 3 officially began rolling out widely on November 18, and even this early on, it’s already proving to be wildly impressive.

Google is making big promises for Gemini 3, touting that this latest model is much better at understanding complex questions and delivering more concise answers. Gemini 3 can even generate custom UIs in real-time for your prompts, making its answers much more interactive and stylized than ever before. It’s exciting stuff.

If you’re eager to try Gemini 3 for yourself, here’s everything you need to know about how to find and use it right now.

Accessing Gemini 3, whether on your desktop or Android, is incredibly simple. However, due to some slightly confusing branding on Google’s part, here’s what you’ll want to do to confirm you’re actually using the new Gemini 3 model and not the old Gemini 2.5 one.

Starting with Gemini on your desktop, from the Gemini website, look for the dropdown menu below the “Ask Gemini” prompt box. By default, it should say “Fast.” With this latest update, Gemini’s two models now include the following:

• Fast: Answers quickly (Gemini 2.5)
• Thinking: Thinks through complex topics (Gemini 3 Pro)

Fast is selected by default, which uses the old Gemini 2.5 model. It’s still great for simpler questions, but know it’s not powered by Gemini 3. If you want to use Gemini 3 Pro — the only Gemini 3 model currently available — you’ll need to switch to Thinking.

The instructions for enabling Gemini 3 on the Android app are mostly identical, although the model naming is slightly different. Here’s what to do:

1. Open the Gemini app.
2. Tap 2.5 Flash near the bottom of the screen.
3. Tap Thinking on the pop-up menu.

Once you do this, you’ll know you’re using Gemini 3 thanks to the “3 Pro” label that appears where it used to say 2.5 Flash.

Gemini 3 Pro was initially only showing up on the desktop site for many of us at Android Authority, but as of November 20, it appears to be widely rolling out to the Android app. If you don’t have access yet, you should very soon.

Given that Google is starting its Gemini 3 rollout with Gemini 3 Pro, that would suggest only users with a Google AI Pro subscription would have access to it — especially since Gemini 2.5 Pro was only available to AI Pro subscribers. Surprisingly, though, that’s not the case.

Anyone who uses Gemini, whether for free or with a paid subscription, can access Gemini 3 Pro. An AI Pro subscription is required if you want to use Gemini 3 Pro with Deep Research, but general Gemini 3 Pro support is available for everyone.

That’s a big change for Google, but it’s one we’re happy to see. Gemini 3 Pro is quickly shaping up to be Google’s best Gemini model yet, and the fact that everyone can try it for themselves without having to pay a dime is fantastic.