Anthropic releases Claude Sonnet 4.6 with million token context
Anthropic just launched Claude Sonnet 4.6, giving its AI a serious upgrade over the previous version.
Released on February 18, 2026, this model is quicker than Opus 4.6 and better at coding, reasoning, and handling complex computer tasks.
Plus, it can keep track of way more info in one go (up to a million tokens), with pricing for the free and Pro plans, as well as Sonnet API use, not increased.
Developers prefer Sonnet 4.6 in tests
Developers are pretty excited. Sonnet 4.6 delivers Opus-level performance but costs less.
In early tests, developers picked it over the old Sonnet for reading context better and cutting down on repeated code.
It even beat Opus 4.5 in developer preference thanks to following instructions more closely and making fewer mistakes.
That said, if you need really deep reasoning for tough problems, folks still lean toward Opus, but Sonnet's definitely closing the gap for everyday work.