Introducing Claude 4: The Next Leap in AI Intelligence, Coding, and Agentic Thinking

Claude 4 is here—marking a major milestone in AI development from Anthropic. This next-generation model family introduces Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4, setting new industry standards for advanced reasoning, software development, tool use, and intelligent agent workflows.
From powering complex coding tasks to supporting real-time AI agents with memory and tool integration, Claude 4 represents a bold step toward building truly collaborative, high-performing virtual partners for work, creativity, and problem-solving.

What Is Claude 4?

Claude 4 refers to the latest generation of large language models (LLMs) from Anthropic, featuring two major variants:

• Claude Opus 4: The most powerful model Anthropic has ever released—built for long-term reasoning, intelligent memory, and sustained multi-step task execution.
• Claude Sonnet 4: A high-performance, mid-tier model that significantly improves on Sonnet 3.7, delivering faster, more accurate results across a wide range of use cases.

Both models support hybrid modes: near-instant response generation for quick tasks and extended thinking mode for deeper, multi-step reasoning.

Claude Opus 4: The World’s Best Coding AI

Claude Opus 4 is Anthropic’s new flagship model and the top performer on key coding and reasoning benchmarks, including:

• 72.5% on SWE-bench
• 43.2% on Terminal-bench

Key Strengths

• Long-term focus: Sustains high performance over hours of complex tasks, making it ideal for agent workflows and long-running processes.
• Best-in-class coding: Powers tools like Replit, Cursor, and GitHub Copilot with multi-file editing, debugging, and full-codebase understanding.
• Advanced memory: With local file access, Opus 4 creates and maintains "memory files", enabling deeper task continuity.
• Use cases: Ideal for AI agents, code generation, technical research, and multi-step task automation.

Used by industry leaders: Replit, Cursor, Block, Rakuten, Sourcegraph, and Cognition are already leveraging Opus 4 for enhanced development workflows and autonomous code understanding.

Claude Sonnet 4: Smarter, Faster, More Accurate

Claude Sonnet 4 is a major upgrade from Sonnet 3.7, offering:

• 72.7% on SWE-bench, outperforming many competitors in real-world coding challenges
• Improved steerability, so it follows your instructions more accurately
• Optimized performance, with enhanced efficiency for enterprise, consumer, and creative use cases

Real-World Applications

• Powering GitHub’s upcoming coding agent for Copilot
• Supporting autonomous app development and multi-feature implementations
• Delivering elegant, high-quality code with fewer navigation errors and better alignment

Ideal for users who want a powerful, responsive AI that balances cost, capability, and flexibility.

New Capabilities with Claude 4

Extended Thinking with Tool Use (Beta)

Claude 4 models can now reason step-by-step and invoke tools like web search or code execution during the process, seamlessly switching between internal logic and external actions.

Parallel Tool Execution

Opus 4 and Sonnet 4 can now run multiple tools in parallel, speeding up results and increasing responsiveness.

Memory Enhancements

With access to local files, Claude 4 models can store and recall key facts, helping maintain long-term understanding and build tacit knowledge over time.

Example: Opus 4 can create a “navigation guide” while playing Pokémon or a reference file while debugging code—retaining and applying memory across steps.

Fewer Shortcuts & Loopholes

Claude 4 models are 65% less likely than Sonnet 3.7 to use task shortcuts or exploit loopholes, particularly during agentic tasks that require sustained accuracy.

Summarized Thinking

Most thought processes are fully visible. For longer ones, Claude 4 introduces "thinking summaries" using smallermodels to condense lengthy reasoning while maintaining traceability.

Claude Code: Now Generally Available

Claude Code—Anthropic’s specialized developer toolset—is now fully available for:

IDE Integration

• VS Code and JetBrains plugins
• Inline code edits
• Seamless pair programming experience

GitHub Integration

• Respond to pull request feedback
• Fix CI errors automatically
• Use /install-github-app to get started

Claude Code SDK

• Build your own agents
• Use the same agent core that powers Claude Code
• Run background tasks via GitHub Actions

Claude Code transforms development workflows—from review and refactoring to autonomous agent-driven improvements.

Claude 4 API and Platform Availability

Both Claude 4 models are available on:

• Anthropic API
• Amazon Bedrock
• Google Cloud Vertex AI

Claude Plans:

• Claude Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans include both Opus 4 and Sonnet 4, plus extended thinking.
• Claude Sonnet 4 is also available to free-tier users.

Pricing

Pricing remains consistent with previous Claude 3 model tiers.

Safety and Alignment: ASL-3 Certification

Claude 4 models operate at AI Safety Level 3 (ASL-3), incorporating:

• Extensive testing to reduce misuse and hallucinations
• Fine-tuned refusals to avoid harmful outputs
• Tools for developers to access raw chains of thought (available in Developer Mode by request)

This makes Claude 4 suitable for regulated industries and high-trust enterprise applications.

Claude 4 Use Cases

Conclusion: A Major Leap Toward Collaborative AI

Claude 4 redefines what AI can do in real-world environments—combining unmatched reasoning, advanced tool use, and intelligent memory with a new level of responsiveness and control.

• Claude Opus 4 sets a new standard for deep code understanding and multi-step reasoning.
• Claude Sonnet 4 delivers smarter performance with efficiency and flexibility for everyday use.

Whether you're building intelligent agents, writing code, automating workflows, or exploring creative ideas, Claude 4 is your most capable AI partner yet.