Anthropic Unveils Claude Opus 4 and Sonnet 4: Revolutionising AI-Powered Coding and Reasoning
In a significant breakthrough, Anthropic has launched the next generation of Claude models, Opus 4 and Sonnet 4, designed to transform coding, advanced reasoning, and the development of autonomous AI agents. According to a report by Amazon Web Services (AWS), both models are now generally available in Amazon Bedrock, providing developers with immediate access to advanced reasoning and agentic capabilities.
The integration of Opus 4 and Sonnet 4 with Amazon Bedrock expands the AI choices available to developers, enabling them to build transformative applications with enterprise-grade security and responsible AI controls. These models extend the possibilities of AI systems by improving task planning, tool use, and agent steerability. As noted by AWS, "Amazon Bedrock expands your AI choices with Anthropic’s most advanced models, giving you the freedom to build transformative applications with enterprise-grade security and responsible AI controls."
Opus 4, the most advanced model to date from Anthropic, is designed for building sophisticated AI agents that can reason, plan, and execute complex tasks with minimal oversight. As quoted in the AWS report, "Claude Opus 4 is the most advanced model to date from Anthropic, designed for building sophisticated AI agents that can reason, plan, and execute complex tasks with minimal oversight." This model excels in software development scenarios where extended context, deep reasoning, and adaptive execution are critical. Developers can use Opus 4 to write and refactor code across entire projects, manage full-stack architectures, or design agentic systems that break down high-level goals into executable steps.
On the other hand, Sonnet 4 complements Opus 4 by balancing performance, responsiveness, and cost, making it well-suited for high-volume production workloads. As stated by AWS, "Sonnet 4 is optimized for efficiency at scale, making it a strong fit as a subagent or for high-volume tasks like code reviews, bug fixes, and production-grade content generation." This model is a drop-in replacement from Claude Sonnet 3.7 and performs well as a task-specific subagent, handling responsibilities like targeted code reviews, search and retrieval, or isolated feature development within a broader pipeline.
Both Opus 4 and Sonnet 4 are hybrid reasoning models offering two modes: near-instant responses and extended thinking for deeper reasoning. Developers can choose near-instant responses for interactive applications or enable extended thinking when a request benefits from deeper analysis and planning. As noted by AWS, "You can configure the model’s thinking budget—for example, by setting a maximum token count—you can tune the tradeoff between latency and answer depth to fit your workload."
To get started with Opus 4 and Sonnet 4, developers can enable the new model in their AWS account and start coding using the Bedrock Converse API. AWS provides a range of code examples for multiple use cases and programming languages to help developers get started. For instance, a code example in Swift demonstrates how to use the Bedrock Converse API to send system and user prompts, and then consume the streamed result.
The release of Opus 4 and Sonnet 4 in Amazon Bedrock gives developers immediate access to the next generation of Claude models developed by Anthropic. As stated by AWS, "This seamless access makes it faster to experiment, prototype, and scale with cutting-edge foundation models—without managing infrastructure or complex integrations." Opus 4 is available in select AWS Regions in North America, while Sonnet 4 is available in a broader range of regions, including APAC and Europe.
In conclusion, the launch of Opus 4 and Sonnet 4 marks a significant milestone in the development of AI-powered coding and reasoning. With their advanced capabilities and seamless integration with Amazon Bedrock, these models have the potential to revolutionise the way developers build and deploy AI-powered applications. As reported by AWS, "Opus 4 tackles your most challenging development tasks, while Sonnet 4 excels at routine work with its optimal balance of speed and capability."
Availability and Pricing
Opus 4 and Sonnet 4 are available in Amazon Bedrock, a fully managed, serverless service. The pricing for these models can be found on the Amazon Bedrock website. Developers can access the two models through cross-Region inference, which helps to automatically select the optimal AWS Region within their geography to process their inference request.
Conclusion
The launch of Opus 4 and Sonnet 4 is a significant breakthrough in the field of AI-powered coding and reasoning. With their advanced capabilities, seamless integration with Amazon Bedrock, and optimal balance of speed and capability, these models have the potential to transform the way developers build and deploy AI-powered applications. As the technology continues to evolve, it will be exciting to see the innovative applications that developers build using these models.
