Gemini 3.8 Live: speechState (SPEECH / NON_SPEECH) is gone, no server-side speech-start signal remains

Gemini API
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Hi team,

Thanks for the great Gemini 3.8 Live update. This is a follow-up to my earlier thread “Gemini Live Flash 3.1 API: inputTranscription no longer streams incrementally”. There I reported that gemini-3.1-flash-live-preview started sending

{“serverContent”: {“speechState”: “SPEECH”}}
{“serverContent”: {“speechState”: “NON_SPEECH”}}

which is the speech_started / speech_stopped signal a real-time client needs (hold the mic open while the user is mid-sentence, time the response from end of speech, etc.).

On gemini-3.8-live it no longer exists. Same setup message, tested on both v1alpha and v1beta: nothing is sent while the user is still talking, and the first server message is the full inputTranscription after they stop. So a client cannot extend its listening window or show a listening state from server signals alone.

Was speechState removed on purpose, or is this a regression? Is there any supported speech-start signal on 3.8?

Thanks.

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