OpenAI has officially launched GPT-4.1, the latest version of its multimodal AI model, and it brings significant upgrades over the previous GPT-4o model. The company made the announcement during a livestream on Monday, revealing enhanced capabilities in reasoning, instruction-following, and coding all with better cost-efficiency.
What Is GPT-4.1 by OpenAI?
GPT-4.1 by OpenAI builds on last year’s GPT-4o, but with a stronger and more efficient architecture. According to OpenAI, the new model outperforms GPT-4o “in just about every dimension.”
Key Upgrades Include:
- 1 Million Token Context Window: GPT-4.1 can now handle up to 1 million tokens — a significant leap from GPT-4o’s 128,000-token limit. This allows the model to process far more data in a single interaction, ideal for long documents, videos, or codebases.
- Better Instruction Following: The model is more precise and context-aware, making it more reliable for tasks that require deep comprehension or following detailed instructions.
- Enhanced Coding Abilities: GPT-4.1 includes optimizations for developers, providing faster and more accurate code generation and debugging.
New Variants: GPT-4.1 Mini and Nano
OpenAI is also launching two smaller versions of GPT-4.1:
- GPT-4.1 Mini: A lighter, more affordable model for developers who want to balance cost with performance.
- GPT-4.1 Nano: OpenAI’s “smallest, fastest, and cheapest” model to date, ideal for edge applications or resource-constrained environments.
Lower Cost and Performance Gains
Compared to GPT-4o, GPT-4.1 is:
- 26% cheaper
- Faster with lower latency
- Better at identifying relevant data and ignoring distractions, especially in long documents
These cost and speed improvements come as OpenAI faces competition from newer players like DeepSeek, known for ultra-efficient AI models.
Phasing Out Older Models
As part of this transition:
- GPT-4 in ChatGPT will be phased out on April 30
- GPT-4.5 preview will be deprecated by July 14
OpenAI notes that GPT-4.1 offers better performance and lower costs, making it a natural successor.
What’s Next for OpenAI?
CEO Sam Altman recently shared that GPT-5 has been delayed, likely to arrive in a few months. He cited challenges with integrating new features seamlessly as the main reason for the delay.
Meanwhile, OpenAI is preparing to release:
- The full version of its o3 reasoning model
- A lightweight o4 mini reasoning model
These models have already been referenced in ChatGPT’s latest web code, hinting at an imminent launch.
GPT-4.1 by OpenAI marks a major milestone in the evolution of AI capabilities, offering developers, businesses, and everyday users more context, lower costs, and stronger performance. As OpenAI shifts its model lineup, GPT-4.1 is poised to become the new standard for high-efficiency AI applications.
