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OpenAI has officially rolled out GPT-4.1, the next iteration in its AI model lineup, during a live broadcast on Monday. This new model builds upon the capabilities of GPT-4o, introducing significant upgrades in performance, affordability, and context handling, particularly for developers and enterprise users.
One of the standout features of GPT-4.1 is its expanded context window—supporting up to 1 million tokens. This is a massive leap from the 128,000-token limit in GPT-4o, allowing the new model to process much larger volumes of text, images, and even videos in a single session. As a result, GPT-4.1 can now deliver more accurate and detailed responses for complex tasks involving large datasets or intricate instructions.
According to OpenAI, GPT-4.1 also improves reliability, especially in managing both long and short-form content. The model has been fine-tuned to ignore irrelevant data more effectively, which enhances its usefulness across various real-world applications—from coding and instruction-following to data analysis.
In addition to the main GPT-4.1 release, OpenAI introduced two lightweight variants designed for cost-conscious developers:
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GPT-4.1 Mini – An affordable entry-level model offering core features of the flagship version, ideal for smaller-scale development needs.
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GPT-4.1 Nano – The smallest and fastest variant, built for high-efficiency tasks where speed and cost savings are key.
Notably, GPT-4.1 is priced 26% lower than its predecessor GPT-4o, making it more accessible for startups, enterprises, and independent developers. This pricing shift comes as OpenAI faces mounting competition from rival AI models like DeepSeek, which has recently set a new benchmark for efficiency.
With the launch of GPT-4.1, OpenAI will phase out GPT-4 by April 30, 2025, and deprecate the GPT-4.5 preview in its API by July 14, 2025. The company claims GPT-4.1 delivers superior performance with lower latency, justifying the transition.
Looking ahead, OpenAI has delayed the release of GPT-5, originally anticipated by May 2025. CEO Sam Altman attributed the delay to challenges in seamless model integration. However, OpenAI is preparing for the release of its next reasoning engines—o3 and o4 mini—which are expected to follow GPT-4.1 soon.
