OpenAI has officially launched GPT-4.1, a major upgrade to its AI model lineup and the direct successor to last year’s GPT-4o multimodal model. Announced during a livestream event on Monday, GPT-4.1 boasts significant advancements in instruction-following, code generation, and long-context reasoning, while being 26% more cost-efficient than its predecessor.
According to OpenAI, GPT-4.1 supports up to 1 million tokens of context, a massive leap from GPT-4o’s 128,000-token limit. This allows developers to feed extensive inputs—text, images, or video—into the model, enabling more sophisticated, memory-rich interactions. In a blog post, OpenAI noted that GPT‑4.1 was trained to “reliably attend to information across the full 1 million context length,” with improved precision in detecting relevant content and ignoring distractions.
GPT-4.1 Mini and Nano Released for Developers
Alongside the flagship model, OpenAI also introduced two smaller versions: GPT-4.1 Mini and GPT-4.1 Nano. While Mini offers a budget-friendly option for experimentation, Nano is designed for speed and affordability, described by the company as its “smallest, fastest, and cheapest” model to date. All three variants of GPT-4.1 share the enhanced 1M-token processing ability.
OpenAI Phases Out Older GPT Models
OpenAI confirmed it will retire the older GPT-4 model from ChatGPT on April 30, making GPT-4.1 and GPT‑4o the new benchmarks. The company also plans to deprecate the GPT-4.5 preview API by July 14, noting that GPT‑4.1 delivers “improved or similar performance on many key capabilities at much lower cost and latency.”
GPT‑4o, the current default model in ChatGPT, was recently updated to include advanced image generation features, which sparked overwhelming usage. OpenAI had to restrict requests and temporarily suspend new free accounts due to the strain on GPU resources.
What About GPT-5? Timeline Delayed
While GPT-4.1 is a big leap forward, it also signals a strategic delay in the rollout of GPT-5. CEO Sam Altman announced on X that GPT-5 is still a few months away, citing unexpected difficulties in integrating features across models. The GPT-4.1 launch reaffirms reports of a shifted roadmap, with OpenAI instead focusing on optimizing its existing infrastructure and model offerings.
Upcoming Releases: o3 and o4 Mini Reasoning Models
OpenAI is also preparing to release the full version of its o3 reasoning model and a lightweight o4 mini model. AI engineer Tibor Blaho recently discovered references to both in ChatGPT’s backend, suggesting their release is imminent.
Conclusion
The debut of GPT‑4.1 represents a pivotal moment in OpenAI’s AI development strategy, combining high-context reasoning with affordability and speed. As GPT-5 awaits its turn, GPT‑4.1 is expected to set new benchmarks in advanced multimodal AI performance and enterprise-grade deployments.
Stay tuned for further updates on OpenAI’s expanding suite of models and tools reshaping the future of AI.
Disclaimer: Includes third-party opinions. No financial advice.
