Anthropic has released the second upgrade to its Claude model this month. With Claude Sonnet 4.6, the mid-sized model in the Claude family receives a comprehensive update. The focus is on significantly improved programming capabilities, a greatly expanded context window, and noticeable performance gains in key work areas such as knowledge work and agent-based planning. Of particular note is Anthropic's decision to include Sonnet 4.6 by default in the free version of Claude. This makes a large portion of the new capabilities immediately available to a wider audience.
Anthropic continuously develops its Claude models through short innovation cycles. The Claude Sonnet is positioned as a mid-range model, placing it between high-performance, high-end variants and lighter versions for broader usage scenarios.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is the first upgrade of this model type since the release of version 4.5 in September 2025. According to Anthropic, the current version represents a "complete capability upgrade" and affects several core areas simultaneously.
Earlier this month, Anthropic released Claude Opus 4.6, a model that featured increased autonomy and improved focus. The release of Sonnet 4.6 now follows as the next step in the same development phase.
Significantly enhanced modeling capabilities
Claude Sonnet 4.6 features a 1-million-token context window. This allows the model to process extremely large texts, documentation, codebases, or project structures and argue consistently across long contexts. Anthropic describes the update as a complete overhaul of the model's capabilities in the following areas:
- Coding
- Computer use
- Long-term context argumentation
- Agent planning
- Knowledge work
- Design
The improvements affect not only individual performance indicators, but also the overall consistency and reliability of the model in complex tasks.
Improved programming skills
A key focus of the update is on software development. According to Anthropic, Claude Sonnet 4.6 brings "significantly improved programming capabilities". Specifically, the following improvements are mentioned:
- Higher consistency in code generation
- better adherence to instructions
- more stable and transparent expenditures
According to Anthropic, developers with Early Access overwhelmingly prefer Sonnet 4.6 to its predecessor, Sonnet 4.5. In many cases, this model is even preferred to the most intelligent model from November 2025, namely Claude Opus 4.5.
Services that previously required an Opus-class model are now possible with Sonnet 4.6. This applies not only to experimental use cases, but also to real, commercially relevant office and development tasks.
Improved computer skills and agent-based usage
In addition to coding improvements, Sonnet 4.6, according to Anthropic, shows a significant improvement in computer skills compared to previous Sonnet models. The model works more systematically with digital environments, plans tasks more reliably, and handles multi-stage processes more consistently.
This further development aligns with Anthropic's strategic focus on agent-based AI systems. Apple recently integrated Anthropic into its development environment, supporting agent-based coding in Xcode using Claude Agent. This further enhances Claude's relevance in professional development environments.
Upgrades to the free version of Claude
One important change concerns the free tier of Claude. Anthropic now uses Claude Sonnet 4.6 by default. This gives users of the free version access to the following features:
- File creation
- connectors
- skills
- Compression
These features were previously unavailable in this form or at this performance level. This significantly enhances the functionality of the free version and brings it closer to paid offerings.
Anthropic strengthens the midfield with high-end quality
With the Claude Sonnet 4.6, Anthropic is specifically strengthening the mid-range segment of its model family. According to the manufacturer, the model achieves a level of performance in many scenarios that was previously reserved for flagship models.
At the same time, integrating the new features into the free version increases their reach. Combined with the recent release of Claude Opus 4.6, this demonstrates a clear dynamic of development within the Claude series.
Anthropic accelerates Claude's further development
Claude Sonnet 4.6 marks a comprehensive upgrade to Anthropic's mid-range model. With a 1-million-token context window, significantly improved programming capabilities, and expanded features in the free version, the performance level within the model family is noticeably shifting. Anthropic is thus focusing on rapid innovation cycles, stronger agent capabilities, and broader availability of advanced AI features. (Image: Shutterstock / gguy)
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