Anthropic releases Claude Opus 4.8 with effort controls, cheaper fast mode, and improved honesty
By
Meredith Shubel
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Summary
Anthropic released Claude Opus 4.8, the newest version of its flagship AI model, featuring effort controls, dynamic workflows, cheaper fast mode, and improved honesty with reduced deception. The model outperforms its predecessor Opus 4.7, as well as GPT-5.5 and Gemini 3.1 Pro across most benchmarks, except for agentic terminal coding where OpenAI's model still leads. It launched at the same price as Opus 4.7.
Key quotes
· 5 pulledOpus 4.8 allows users to control Claude's effort, tackle bigger coding tasks, and run fast mode more cheaply.
Anthropic also says the model is more honest, less deceptive, and better at supporting user autonomy and best interests.
Benchmarks put Opus 4.8 ahead of its predecessor, as well as GPT-5.5 and Gemini 3.1 Pro, save agentic terminal coding, where OpenAI's model remains the winner.
It was available on Thursday at the same price as Opus 4.7.
The rumors are true: Opus 4.8 touches down as an
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