Google's free AI video tool, Vids, now makes clips up to 15 seconds long, and Google describes the free allowance for personal accounts in two different ways. Google also sells the same model to developers on its Gemini API, a separate product, where one 15-second clip works out to about RM4.26.
Quick facts
- Free tier: Google's announcement says up to three 15-second videos a month at no cost; its Vids help page lists 60 seconds of AI clips a month for a personal Google account, and more on paid plans. Google does not explain how the two figures fit together.
- Model: Gemini Omni 1.2 Flash, which now runs in Vids in place of Omni 1.1 Flash and its 10-second clips.
- Developer price: US$0.07 a second for 720p video on the Gemini API, which Google says is 30% below Omni 1.1.
- In ringgit: about RM4.26 for one 15-second API clip, at Bank Negara Malaysia's published 6 November middle rate.
- Where to try it: vids.new, on a desktop browser.
What changed in Google Vids
Google opened AI video generation in Vids to every Google account on 23 September, running Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash. On 5 November (US time), Google said Vids now runs on Omni 1.2 Flash, and that anyone with a Google account can generate up to three videos a month, each up to 15 seconds, at no cost. Google's Vids help page sets the limit in seconds instead: 60 seconds of AI video clips a month for a personal Google account, plus six preset AI avatar generations, and up to 10,000 seconds on the top paid Google AI plan. Google does not explain how the three-clip figure and the 60-second figure fit together. The same page says the features work in every country where Google Workspace accounts are available. We have not yet tested the free tier on a Malaysian personal account.
Google pitches it at product promos, social clips and explainers. You can upload reference images so a character or product looks the same from the first frame to the last, and Google says the spoken narration now sounds more natural.
What the same model costs developers
The free clips live inside Vids, and the API price below is not a Vids price. On the developer side, Google's Omni 1.2 Flash announcement prices 720p video at US$0.07 a second on the Gemini API. A full 15-second clip is US$1.05. Bank Negara Malaysia's 6 November rate was a middle rate of RM4.059 per US dollar, so that clip comes to about RM4.26. Google says the price is 30% below Omni 1.1. Omni 1.1 only made clips up to 10 seconds, so the fair comparison is a 10-second clip: about RM2.84 on Omni 1.2 Flash, against our estimate of about RM4.06 on Omni 1.1 (US$0.10 a second, worked back from Google's 30% figure; Google did not restate the old price).
Google suggests drafting at 360p or 720p, fixing a detail with a follow-up edit instead of generating the clip again, and then upscaling the best take to 1080p or 4K. Those follow-up edits are new in 1.2. You can ask it to swap a background, change the lighting or switch the aspect ratio without starting over. Google did not give a separate ringgit or dollar price for upscaling in the announcement, so the RM4.26 figure covers 720p only.
The limits Google states
Google says the model still needs work on fast sports action, quick script changes and complex physics. Its Vids help page adds that personal Google accounts get preset AI avatars only and "might have some restrictions on AI video editing". In the Gemini app, 15-second video is rolling out to Google AI Ultra subscribers first. Google says Omni 1.2 outputs carry its invisible SynthID watermark.
Prices for Google's paid AI plans in Malaysia are in our Gemini Southeast Asia report story. Another free desktop video tool we have covered is Instagram's Edits on Mac. Prefer filming the real thing? See what a phone alone can shoot.
Vids is at vids.new on a desktop browser. Google states the free allowance as up to three clips of up to 15 seconds in its announcement and as 60 seconds in its help page, without explaining how the two fit together.
