OpenAI to Retire GPT-4 Model from ChatGPT

Upcoming Replacement with GPT-4o

OpenAI will soon retire GPT-4, an AI model it launched over two years ago, from ChatGPT, the company announced in a changelog on Thursday. Effective April 30, GPT-4 will be “fully replaced” by GPT-4o, the current default model for ChatGPT, OpenAI said. However, GPT-4 will remain available in OpenAI’s API.

Improved Performance of GPT-4o

“In head‑to‑head evaluations, [GPT-4o] consistently surpasses GPT‑4 in writing, coding, STEM, and more,” wrote OpenAI in the changelog. “Recent upgrades have further improved GPT‑4o’s instruction following, problem solving, and conversational flow, making it a natural successor to GPT‑4.”

Background of GPT-4

GPT-4 rolled out in March 2023 for ChatGPT, and also for Microsoft’s Copilot chatbot on the web. Several versions of GPT-4 had multimodal capabilities, allowing them to understand both images and text — a first for a widely deployed OpenAI model.

Cost and Controversy Surrounding GPT-4

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said that GPT-4, which is reportedly massive in size, cost more than $100 million to train. It was succeeded by GPT-4 Turbo in November 2023, a faster and cheaper model. GPT-4 is one of the models at the heart of copyright disputes between OpenAI and publishers including The New York Times. Publishers allege that OpenAI trained GPT-4 on their data without their knowledge or consent. OpenAI claims that fair use doctrine shields it from liability.

Future Developments in ChatGPT

GPT-4’s coming retirement will likely follow the release of new models in ChatGPT. According to reverse engineer Tibor Blaho, OpenAI is readying a family of models called GPT-4.1 — GPT-4.1 mini, GPT-4.1 nano, and GPT-4.1 — as well as the o3 “reasoning” model the company announced in December and a new reasoning model called o4-mini.

Conclusion

The retirement of GPT-4 marks a significant development for OpenAI and the future of its ChatGPT platform. The introduction of GPT-4o is expected to bring improved performance and capabilities to the platform, but the controversy surrounding GPT-4’s training data and copyright disputes may continue to be a concern for the company.

FAQs

Q: What is GPT-4?

A: GPT-4 is an AI model that was launched over two years ago by OpenAI for use in its ChatGPT platform.

Q: What is GPT-4o?

A: GPT-4o is the current default model for ChatGPT, which will replace GPT-4 on April 30. It is said to have improved performance and capabilities compared to GPT-4.

Q: Why is GPT-4 being retired?

A: OpenAI is retiring GPT-4 to introduce a new, improved model that offers better performance and capabilities. GPT-4 will remain available in OpenAI’s API.

Q: What is the cost of GPT-4?

A: According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, GPT-4 cost more than $100 million to train.

Q: What is the future of GPT-4 in the face of copyright disputes?

A: The controversy surrounding GPT-4’s training data and copyright disputes may continue to be a concern for OpenAI, despite the introduction of new models and the retirement of GPT-4.

When Nintendo Announced the Switch 2 Would Cost $450, My Initial Reaction was Disappointment

When Nintendo announced the Switch 2 would cost $450, my initial reaction was disappointment. "Why does it cost so much more?" I thought to myself. "Why does Japan get it cheaper?" my brain jealously added, once I learned that Nintendo would sell a Japan-only model for the equivalent of just $333.

The Original Switch Still Costs Around 33,000 Yen in Japan

Since its March 3rd, 2017, debut, Nintendo basically hasn’t changed the price of the original Switch in either the US or Japan. The portable console cost $300 USD or ¥32,378 in 2017; it costs the same $300 USD or a very slightly higher ¥32,978 today, eight years later. But the US economy and the Japanese economy have not been the same since 2017. Inflation and exchange rates have drastically changed since then.

The Effects of Inflation and Exchange Rates

On the one hand, the US dollar now buys less in the US than it did in 2017. Dramatic US inflation means that an original $300 Switch would cost nearly $400 if introduced today. The same is not true in Japan, which has historically had low inflation, or even deflation, until fairly recently. A ¥32,378 Switch would cost more like ¥36,000 today if Nintendo had followed the trend.

On the other hand, US dollars are now worth dramatically more in Japan because the Japanese yen is remarkably weak. Compare: on January 13th, 2017, the day Nintendo announced the original Switch’s price, you could only get 114 yen per US dollar. On April 2nd, 2025, the day Nintendo announced the Switch 2, each dollar was worth almost 150 yen. Each dollar buys 30 percent more in Japan than it did back then.

Japan’s Experience with Inflation and Tourism

Japan is experiencing more tourism than ever before as a result of that weak yen, to the point some particularly scenic locations have become overrun — it was international news when a small town near Mount Fuji erected a barrier to keep people from blocking the streets while duplicating an iconic Instagram shot of the mountain merged with a convenience store. I just came back from a two-week trip to Japan, and I’ve never eaten so well for so little cash.

But Japanese Residents Can’t Say the Same

Not only is Japan starting to experience inflated food prices, but their wages reportedly aren’t keeping pace. It’s not fair to say, “Oh, Japan only has to pay $330 for the Switch 2 while we pay $450,” because both the Japanese and international versions cost almost exactly 50 percent more than Nintendo charges for an original Switch.

The Disparity in Pricing

Instead, the disparity we see is likely because the dollar goes so much further right now, and because the yen does not. As one Tokyo-based game streamer put it: “Salaries and cost of living hasn’t changed at all here so 49,980 feels like 450 usd.” A fun thought experiment: if exchange rates were the same as they were in 2017, the Japan-only Switch 2 would cost $434 in US money. It would cost $450 USD there if the dollar sinks to 111 yen or below, which it did during large portions of 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Conclusion

While Nintendo might be charging more than I’d like to spend, particularly with its $80 games and its button that makes you pay extra, I no longer think the company’s being distinctly unfair to gamers outside of Japan. The $450 price makes more sense when you consider what’s happened to the dollar and the yen.

FAQs

Q: Why is the Switch 2 so expensive?
A: The Switch 2 is not expensive in the context of Japan, where the yen is weak, making the dollar worth more. In the US, the Switch 2 is more expensive due to inflation and exchange rates.

Q: Why does Japan get a cheaper version of the Switch 2?
A: The Japan-only Switch 2 is priced to reflect the weak yen, making the dollar worth more in Japan.

Q: Is Nintendo being unfair to gamers outside of Japan?
A: No, Nintendo is not being unfair. The company is pricing the Switch 2 based on the current economic conditions in Japan and the US.

Q: Can Nintendo justify charging 50 percent more for a new handheld eight years later?
A: While US inflation might help justify a $400 Switch, Nintendo can afford to get away with a $450 Switch because real competition is slim.

Q: How does the Switch 2 compare to other handheld gaming options?
A: The Switch 2 stands alone in terms of pricing, with no other handheld gaming options in the same price range.

Apple’s Struggle to Innovate: A Tale of Delayed Products and Internal Conflicts

A Company in Crisis

Even before President Trump’s tariffs threatened to upend Apple’s manufacturing business in China, the company’s struggle to make new products was leading some people inside its lavish Silicon Valley headquarters to wonder whether the company had somehow lost its magic.

The Tariff Impact

The tariffs, which were introduced April 2, caused Apple to lose $773 billion in market capitalization in four days and briefly lose its standing as the most valuable publicly traded company in the world. But investors had already started to sour on the company, sending its share price down 8 percent in the first four months of the year, double the S&P 500’s decline.

The Vision Pro and Apple Intelligence

Apple had hoped to revive its fortunes over the past year with a virtual reality headset, the Vision Pro, and an artificial intelligence system called Apple Intelligence. Sales of the headset have been a disappointment, however, and the signature features of the A.I. system have been postponed because it didn’t work as well as the company had expected.

A Company in Crisis: The Albatross of Innovation

The company’s issues underscored how its reputation for innovation, once considered a fundamental element of its brand, has become an albatross, fueling angst among employees and frustration among customers. And company insiders worry that Apple, despite its years of gravity-defying profits, is hamstrung by the political infighting, penny pinching, and talent drain that often bedevil large companies, according to more than a dozen former and current employees and advisers.

The A.I. System: A Story of Dysfunction

Apple’s issues with Apple Intelligence exposed dysfunction inside the organization. In a nearly two-hour video presentation last summer, Apple demonstrated how the A.I. product would summarize notifications and offer writing tools to improve emails and messages. It also revealed an improved Siri virtual assistant that could combine information on a phone, like a message about someone’s travel itinerary, with information on the web, like a flight arrival time.

The Delayed Launch of Siri

The A.I. features were unavailable when new iPhones shipped. They arrived in October, about a month late, and quickly ran into trouble. Notification summaries misrepresented news reports, leading Apple to disable that feature. Then, last month, the company postponed the spring release of an improved Siri because internal testing found that it was inaccurate on nearly a third of requests, said three people familiar with the project who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The Infighting and Talent Drain

The A.I. stumble was set in motion in early 2023. Mr. Giannandrea, who was overseeing the effort, sought approval from the company’s chief executive, Tim Cook, to buy more A.I. chips, known as graphics processing units, or GPUs, five people with knowledge of the request said. The chips, which can perform hundreds of computations at the same time, are critical to building the neural networks of A.I. systems, like chatbots, that can answer questions or write software code.

Conclusions

Apple’s struggle to innovate is a tale of delayed products and internal conflicts. The company’s reputation for innovation, once considered a fundamental element of its brand, has become an albatross, fueling angst among employees and frustration among customers. Apple’s issues with Apple Intelligence exposed dysfunction inside the organization, and the company’s inability to deliver on its promises has led to a loss of trust among investors and customers.

FAQs

Q: What is the current state of Apple’s A.I. system?
A: The A.I. system has been delayed, and its features are currently unavailable.

Q: What is the reason for the delay?
A: The delay is due to technical issues and internal conflicts within the company.

Q: What is the impact of the delay on Apple’s reputation?
A: The delay has led to a loss of trust among investors and customers, and has further undermined Apple’s reputation for innovation.

Q: What is the future of Apple’s A.I. system?
A: Apple plans to release a virtual assistant in the fall capable of doing things like editing and sending a photo to a friend on request.