GPT-4 Turbo: What’s New and Is It Worth It?
OpenAI quietly rolled out GPT-4 Turbo. After a month of testing, here’s what matters.
The Big Changes
1. Fresher Knowledge
Knowledge cutoff moved from September 2021 to April 2024. Finally, you can ask about recent events without the model pretending it’s still 2021.
2. Longer Context
From 8K to 128K tokens. That’s roughly 100,000 words. Upload an entire book and ask questions about it.
3. Better Vision
Image understanding is now built into GPT-4 Turbo. Describe a photo, analyze a chart, or understand a screenshot.
4. Faster Responses
Noticeably snappier. Complex requests that took 30 seconds now complete in 15.
5. Lower Prices (API)
For developers: 3x cheaper than GPT-4. This matters for apps and businesses.
Real-World Testing
We put GPT-4 Turbo through our standard tests:
Writing quality: Same excellence as GPT-4. No degradation noticed.
Code generation: Feels slightly better. More context means better understanding of large codebases.
Reasoning: Complex chains of logic still work well. Maybe marginally better.
Speed: Definitely faster. This makes a real difference in daily use.
The Catch
With 128K context, it’s tempting to dump everything in. But:
- More context = slower responses (even with Turbo)
- The model can still miss details buried in long text
- Quality prompts matter more than quantity
Use the context window wisely, not wastefully.
Compared to Claude
| Feature | GPT-4 Turbo | Claude 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 128K | 100K |
| Knowledge cutoff | April 2024 | Early 2023 |
| Speed | Fast | Fast |
| Writing style | Comprehensive | Nuanced |
| Coding | Excellent | Very good |
| Price (API) | $0.01/1K tokens | $0.008/1K tokens |
Both are excellent. GPT-4 Turbo has fresher knowledge. Claude has a different style some prefer.
Should You Upgrade?
If you have ChatGPT Plus: You already have it. Enjoy.
If you’re on free ChatGPT: The gap between GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 Turbo is substantial. Worth $20/month if you use AI seriously.
If you’re a developer: The price drop makes GPT-4-level intelligence more affordable for apps.
The Bottom Line
GPT-4 Turbo is GPT-4 made better, faster, and cheaper. Not revolutionary, but a meaningful upgrade.
The AI assistant wars continue. We all benefit.
Want the full comparison? See our GPT-4 vs Claude breakdown.
Frequently Asked Questions
GPT-4 Turbo has updated knowledge (April 2024), 128K context window (vs 8K), vision capabilities built-in, and faster responses. It's a significant upgrade from the original GPT-4.
Yes. ChatGPT Plus subscribers get GPT-4 Turbo automatically. It's the default GPT-4 model in the interface.
For coding and multi-step reasoning, GPT-4 Turbo has an edge. For writing and document analysis, Claude competes well. Both are excellent.