OpenAI Unveils Game-Changing GPT-4.1 Series with Enhanced Speed and Cost Efficiency

On April 15, OpenAI announced the launch of its GPT-4.1 series, featuring three sub-models: GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1mini, and GPT-4.1nano. These models mark substantial advancements in programming capabilities, comprehension of instructions, and handling of lengthy texts, significantly surpassing their predecessors, the GPT-4o and GPT-4o mini. A notable feature of the GPT-4.1 series is its ability to expand the context window up to one million tokens and an updated knowledge base that extends to June 2024, enhancing its support for complex tasks.

The GPT-4.1 series is presently available only to developers through an API interface, with regular users unable to access it via the ChatGPT platform. OpenAI has revealed that GPT-4.1 offers a 40% increase in code generation speed within programming environments and an 80% reduction in user query costs, thereby optimizing both efficiency and expense in development tasks.

Performance benchmarks for the GPT-4.1 models have set new records across various domains. For instance, in a SWE-bench Verified test, GPT-4.1 achieved a score of 54.6%, marking a 21.4 percentage point improvement over GPT-4o. Similarly, it showed a 10.5 percentage point improvement in the MultiChallenge test for instruction adherence and set a new high of 72.0% on the Video-MME test for multimodal processing. Furthermore, the GPT-4.1mini variant displayed performance that closely approaches, and occasionally exceeds, that of GPT-4o, with reduced latency by nearly 50% and a cost reduction of 83%.

Real-world applications of these models also reflect notable advancements. In programming efficiency, the Windsurf test indicated a 30% increase, with ineffective edits reduced by half. In the legal sector, Thomson Reuters' AI legal assistant, CoCounsel, reported a 17% improvement in multi-document review accuracy after integrating GPT-4.1.

Pricing for GPT-4.1 is set at $2 per one million tokens for input and $8 for output. In medium query scenarios, compared to GPT-4o, GPT-4.1 not only improves performance but also reduces costs by 26%. Among the models, GPT-4.1nano is highlighted for its exceptionally low latency and cost-effectiveness, making it the most economical choice in OpenAI's current lineup.