Gemini 3.1 Pro hits student backlash

The transition to Gemini 3.1 has created a "vibe-check" crisis suggesting that benchmarks fail to capture the lived experience of power users. Aggressive system prompting in the consumer app likely accounts for perceived regressions compared to AI Studio, while the reduction of the student trial from 12 months to one month has alienated future developers. Inconsistent multimodal performance and the launch of a tiered Ultra subscription further indicate production reliability struggles and community frustration over perceived bait-and-switch tactics.