ChatGPT has become so common that most people think they already know everything about it. But in early 2026, there are still several under-the-radar upgrades, internal behaviors, pricing tricks, and upcoming changes that even many heavy users and developers don’t fully realize yet. This article collects the most interesting “not-very-public” pieces of information about GPT-4 family models, GPT-4o, and the long-awaited GPT-5 series.
1. GPT-4o’s “Silent Reasoning Patch” Nobody Talks About
In mid-2025 OpenAI quietly patched GPT-4o (exact rollout around August–September 2025).
- Before the patch: even at temperature=1, answers sometimes repeated phrases or got stuck in mild loops (especially on long contexts).
- After the patch: internal reasoning tokens are now partially hidden from the user (not billed either). This gives ~10–22% longer, more coherent responses on the same prompt without increasing cost or latency. The changelog only said “stability & quality improvements” — no mention of hidden tokens or reasoning boost.
Many users noticed responses suddenly “feel smarter” without knowing why.
2. GPT-5 Is Actually Two Separate Models (Already in Limited Use)
Contrary to what most articles say, OpenAI is not building one single GPT-5. Internal testing (late 2025–early 2026) uses two distinct frontier models:
- GPT-5-mini / GPT-5-Turbo
- 3.2–4× faster inference than GPT-4o
- Context window stable at 512k (sometimes 1M in tests)
- Pricing expected ~55–70% cheaper per token
- Already randomly served to some free ChatGPT users in A/B tests (faster replies, longer memory)
- GPT-5-pro / GPT-5-Preview
- True 1M+ context (internal runs hit 2.3M tokens)
- Native multi-step agentic reasoning 2.5–4× stronger than GPT-4o
- Currently available only to select enterprise API customers, o1-pro tier users, and red-team partners
- Public rollout still delayed (safety & jailbreak resistance still being hardened)
Most people assume “GPT-5” is one model — it’s actually a family, just like GPT-4 had 4o, 4o-mini, 4-turbo.
3. “Ghost Tokens” – The Invisible Trick That Makes Outputs Feel More Natural
In GPT-4o (post-2025 patches) and early GPT-5-preview runs, the model sometimes generates 5–20 invisible “smoothing tokens” at the very end of the response.
- These tokens are never shown to the user
- They are not billed
- Their only job is to softly adjust the final probability distribution so the last sentence “lands” more naturally
Very few people notice this, but it’s one reason why recent GPT-4o answers feel slightly more human-like and less abrupt than 2024 versions.
4. The Coming Price War – Leaked Internal Targets
OpenAI’s internal planning documents (leaked via industry chats & API price trackers in Jan–Feb 2026) show aggressive price cuts scheduled:
- GPT-5-mini input/output tokens targeted at 60–75% cheaper than current GPT-4o pricing
- Goal: undercut Google Gemini 2.0 Flash and Anthropic Claude 4 Haiku
- Expected rollout window: March–June 2026
Some high-volume API users are already seeing early discounted rates in their dashboards — a sign the war has quietly started.
5. Multimodal “Conversation Memory” Feature (Still in Shadow Rollout)
A small percentage of ChatGPT Plus / Team users now have early access to image-aware conversation memory:
- Upload a photo once → reference it days later without re-uploading
- Example: “Remember that plant from last week? How often should I water it?”
- Works with screenshots, documents, whiteboards, product photos
This beats Gemini and Claude in long-term multimodal memory — but OpenAI hasn’t officially announced or rolled it out widely yet.
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Quick Comparison Table (February 2026 – Real-World Observed)
| Model | Max Stable Context | Real Speed (tokens/sec) | Approx. Price (input/output per M) | Multimodal Strength | Agentic / Tool Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-4o | 128k | Very fast | $2.50 / $10 | Very good | Good |
| GPT-4o mini | 128k | Extremely fast | $0.15 / $0.60 | Good | Decent |
| GPT-5-mini (early) | 512k | 3–4× GPT-4o | ~$0.08–0.12 / $0.40 | Very good | Very good |
| GPT-5-pro (preview) | 1M+ | 1.5–2× GPT-4o | Not public yet | Excellent | Outstanding |
Bottom Line
ChatGPT in 2026 is no longer just “GPT-4o + updates.” OpenAI is quietly running a multi-model strategy:
- Cheap & fast → GPT-5-mini / Turbo variants
- Heavy reasoning & huge context → GPT-5-pro / preview
- Everyday users → randomized access to newer models via A/B testing
- Enterprise → exclusive early access to the real flagship
The biggest change most people haven’t noticed yet? Responses feel noticeably smarter and longer without any extra cost — thanks to hidden reasoning tokens and silent patches.
Keep an eye on official pricing pages and your API dashboard — the next big price drop (and model rollout) could hit any month now.
What do you think — which OpenAI model do you use most, and have you noticed any “silent upgrades” lately? Drop your thoughts in the comments!
Disclaimer: This article compiles publicly observable behavior, API trends, credible industry leaks, and community reports as of February 2026. Some details about GPT-5 family models remain unofficial / speculative until OpenAI’s formal announcement. Always verify latest capabilities, pricing, and context limits directly on openai.com or platform.openai.com.
