While everyone was staring at OpenAI for a GPT-5 reveal, Anthropic dropped something unexpected: Claude 4.1 Opus. I tested it. I broke it. I benchmarked it.
Here’s what changed, and what didn’t.

Claude 4.1 Opus

Claude — 4.1 Opus

Claude Opus 4.1 is slightly improved over Opus 4. What are the differences between Opus 4.0 and 4.1?

Claude — 4.1 Opus

I hit the limit, once again! Claude is good, but the limits are excruciating.

Claude 4.1 Opus Benchmarks

As you can see from the benchmark below, the new model is just 2% better than the previous model.

Opus 4 and Opus 4.1

But they didn't just drop this new one; they also mentioned that even better improvements are ahead.

What’s next?

And the model is now the best AI model. Here is the comparison.

Claude Opus 4.1 vs OpenAI and Gemini Models

Moreover, you can also reach this model via Claude Code.

Opus 4.1 is available to paid Claude users in Claude Code.

What is Claude Code?

Claude Code = Claude + CLI, what does it mean? It means you can access Claude code through your terminal, and it can access your computer to run codes, create files, or build applications.

To initiate, you should use this.

claude

And Claude will say hi to you.

Claude Code

However, as you can see the error message in the bottom right, their limits are not optimal. They’ve reduced the limit over time. If you want to know more about Claude Code, read this one.

Also, there is a free version of this CLI agent, which is Gemini CLI from Google. To discover it, read this one.

What is next?

We’ve been waiting for GPT-5 this week. Even though we weren’t expecting a new model from Anthropic, this shows that their team is working hard to satisfy users, despite the model's current limitations.

Final Thoughts

GPT-2, GPT-3, GPT-3.5, GPT-4, GPT-4o — and now Claude 3.5, 3.7, 4.0, 4.1.

As the numbers keep rising, we need to pause and reflect: What impact are these models having on our daily lives, decisions, and jobs?

Why should we care? As AI continues to evolve, we must adapt to these changes to ensure a significant role in the AI future.

If you want me to send the AI Builders Playbook, subscribe to me on my Substack here.

“Machine learning is the last invention that humanity will ever need to make.” Nick Bostrom