Google Deepmind released Gemini 3.8 Live and 3.8 Live Extended Thinking, two new audio models for developers available through the Gemini API and Google AI Studio. Gemini 3.8 Live powers voice agents that can make API calls in the background, process visual input, and keep talking at the same time. It supports over 97 languages. The Extended Thinking variant ranks first on the Artificial Analysis Speech-to-Speech Leaderboard with 82.6 percent, ahead of OpenAI's latest GPT-Live-1 models. Sample apps are on GitHub.
Google charges $0.005 per minute for audio input and $0.018 for output, far cheaper than OpenAI's GPT-Live-1 at $0.05 per minute. An hour of voice conversation costs about $1.38 with Google versus at least $3.00 with OpenAI. OpenAI's model should still deliver more natural conversations thanks to full duplex that lets it listen and speak at the same time. Judging from the demos, it also sounds better, suggesting Google once again optimized for price over quality.
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