OpenAI DevDay 2026: what OpenAI announced, and what it still hasn't published
OpenAI DevDay 2026 took place at Fort Mason in San Francisco on 2026-09-29; OpenAI calls it its biggest yet, with more than 20 major announcements. The most direct for developers are the new API model gpt-6.1-sol ($2 input, $0.10 cached input, $2.50 cache writes, $10 output per 1M tokens), computer use in the Agents API and Ultrafast for GPT-6 Astra. gpt-6.1-sol has been callable on QCode since 2026-09-30.
Updated 2026-10-22
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Four things DevDay 2026 is easy to read wrong
The released model is gpt-6.1-sol, not the cancelled GPT-6.1 Astra
Reporting on 2026-09-28 said GPT-6.1 Astra would not be released; the model OpenAI released on 2026-09-29 is gpt-6.1-sol. It is not GPT-6.1 Astra, and OpenAI does not describe the two as the same model.
GPT-6 Sol's pricing and specification did not change at DevDay
The gpt-6-sol row still reads $2.00 / $0.20 / $2.50 / $10.00, and the model page still lists 1,050,000 / 922,000 / 128,000. What is new is a same-priced gpt-6.1-sol with a different cached-input convention: 5% instead of 10%.
Not in Chat: 6.1 Sol sits in Work and Codex, like Sol and Luna
The official Codex documentation states that in ChatGPT, GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6 Sol and GPT-6 Luna are available in Work and Codex and are not available in Chat. At launch Free and Go were not included, and Enterprise and Edu kept it off until an administrator enabled it.
Astra still scores highest among tested models (OpenAI claim)
In OpenAI's own evaluation Astra scores highest in the table, and OpenAI still recommends Astra for the hardest research tasks; the exact scores are in the official launch post.
What DevDay 2026 was actually for
DevDay 2026 was a developer conference. The official recap says “developers can directly launch new native experiences to our collective 1.2B weekly users” (the 1.2B figure is OpenAI's own claim). Three items bear directly on the API: the new model gpt-6.1-sol, computer use in the Agents API, and the Ultrafast tier in the Responses API. On the ChatGPT side the highlights are the dots always-on agents, the Pro 500 plan and product surfaces such as ChatGPT Space.
2026-09-29: OpenAI releases gpt-6.1-sol
OpenAI's API changelog lists, under 2026-09-29, “Released GPT-6.1 Sol (gpt-6.1-sol)”, positioned for complex coding and professional work at a lower cost than GPT-6 Astra. The launch post calls it an upgrade on GPT-6 Sol, “near-Astra intelligence … at one-fifth of Astra's standard API input and output token prices” — and the official table does give $2 against $10 for input, $10 against $50 for output. Re-checked 2026-10-20: Ultrafast pricing is now published (gpt-6-astra and gpt-6.1-sol), and dots' plan access is documented officially.
Release day and what follows
DevDay 2026 itself: the 2026-09-29 block of the official API changelog lists the gpt-6.1-sol release and three API changes, and the launch post and recap carry the same day. The official schedule puts the opening keynote at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
This page was first checked on 2026-09-30 and re-checked on 2026-10-20: gpt-6-sol and gpt-6-astra remain callable on QCode, and gpt-6.1-sol has been callable since 2026-09-30; QCode does not currently support gpt-6-luna, so please use another GPT model. The full list is on /models.
As of 2026-09-30 OpenAI gave wording, not dates: both Ultrafast for GPT-6.1 Sol and the broad release of the Decisions API were «in the coming days». Re-checked 2026-10-20: the Decisions API entered beta on 2026-10-06, Ultrafast token prices (gpt-6-astra and gpt-6.1-sol) are published and dots plan access is documented; collaborative slides («in the coming weeks») and the Private Inference preview («this fall») were not re-checked, and a retirement date for gpt-6.1-sol is still unpublished.
Official text / vendor claim / official prices
Published by OpenAI (verbatim source)
Officially announced. Model gpt-6.1-sol: 1,050,000 context, 922,000 maximum input, 128,000 maximum output, knowledge cutoff 2026-04-30, input modalities text and image, reasoning efforts low / medium (default) / high / xhigh / max, with none and minimal unsupported. Standard rates per million tokens: $2 input, $0.10 cached input, $2.50 cache writes, $10 output; requests above 272K input tokens are billed at 2x input and cache rates and 1.5x output for the whole request; cache writes are 1.25x; Fast is 2x Standard while Batch and Flex are 50% lower; regional processing adds 10% where available. Re-checked 2026-10-20: Ultrafast pricing is published — gpt-6-astra at $60 input / $6 cached / $300 output and gpt-6.1-sol at $12 input / $0.60 cached / $60 output per 1M tokens for short context; long context is $120 / $12 / $450 and $24 / $1.20 / $90 respectively. Three API changes landed the same day: computer use in the Agents API with an OpenAI-hosted browser, Ultrafast for GPT-6 Astra in the Responses API, and Multi-agent in beta for the gpt-6.1-sol model. dots is rolling out to Pro 100, Pro 200 and Pro 500 (users over 18 outside the EEA, UK and Switzerland), Business Premium and Enterprise.
Not published (left blank, no guessing)
As of 2026-10-20 OpenAI still has not published a retirement date for gpt-6.1-sol (the deprecations page has no entry), a launch date for dots in the EEA, UK and Switzerland, a date for GPT-6.1 Sol Ultrafast in Codex (the 2026-09-29 announcement only said “coming soon”; the API side went live on 2026-10-08), or dates and ticket prices for the eight DevDay Exchanges cities. Items still blank on 2026-09-30 have since been filled in: Ultrafast prices for gpt-6-astra and gpt-6.1-sol are published, and Pro 500 costs $500 per month.
Two rates published the same day: the new 6.1 Sol and the current Astra
gpt-6.1-sol official standard rates
The Standard table on the official pricing page: $2 input, $0.10 cached input, $2.50 cache writes, $10 output; the long-context tier (input above 272K) is $4.00, $0.20, $5.00, $15.00. Cached input, per OpenAI, is priced at 5% of the uncached input rate.
For comparison: gpt-6-astra official standard rates
The Astra row of the same table: $10.00 input, $1.00 cached input, $12.50 cache writes, $50.00 output. By that table the input and output of 6.1 Sol come to exactly one fifth of Astra's, while the cached-input convention drops from 10% to 5%.
Three things a developer can act on today
First, for coding work that wants near-Astra behaviour at lower cost, the official guide describes gpt-6.1-sol as balancing intelligence and cost, and requires tool calling through the Responses API. Second, for browser-shaped agents, OpenAI now ships computer use in the Agents API: the browser runs in an OpenAI-hosted environment while your application handles site access approvals and sign-in. Third, when choosing inside the GPT-6 family, the official migration checklist starts by setting model to gpt-6-astra, gpt-6.1-sol or gpt-6-luna and then checking each item; OpenAI states Astra remains the right choice for the hardest research tasks.
The QCode side: DevDay's new gpt-6.1-sol has been callable on QCode since 2026-09-30
Since 2026-09-30 gpt-6.1-sol has been callable on QCode, billed per token, with per-model rates on /models. OpenAI's official rates are $2 input, $10 output and $0.10 cached input per 1M tokens. Models from OpenAI available on QCode include gpt-6.1-sol, gpt-6-astra and gpt-6-sol; the Anthropic side includes claude-opus-5-5 and claude-sonnet-5; QCode does not currently support gpt-6-luna, so please use another GPT model. dots, Pro 500, Codex cloud and Marketplace are subscriptions and agents hosted by OpenAI; QCode does not sell those, and they appear here as background only. Not ready for a monthly plan? Pay-as-you-go Packs start at $4 for a one-time quota you use within 7 days; if you already have a Personal Plan, add a booster pack when you need more quota.
Questions
What date was DevDay 2026?
DevDay 2026 took place at Fort Mason in San Francisco on 2026-09-29. The official schedule put the keynote at 10:00 a.m. and closing at 4:00 p.m., with a $650 registration fee for invitees. It was OpenAI's annual developer conference and has ended; the official recap and API changelog were both published that day.
What is the new model called and what does it cost?
The official API model id is gpt-6.1-sol. Standard rates per million tokens are $2 input, $0.10 cached input, $2.50 cache writes and $10 output. Requests above 272K input tokens bill at 2x input and cache and 1.5x output for the whole request; Fast is 2x Standard; Batch and Flex are 50% lower; regional processing adds 10% where available.
Is it the same model as GPT-6.1 Astra?
No. Reporting on 2026-09-28 said GPT-6.1 Astra would not be released; the model OpenAI released on 2026-09-29 is gpt-6.1-sol. GPT-6.1 Astra is a different model, and OpenAI does not describe them as the same thing.
Can I call gpt-6.1-sol on QCode?
Yes. gpt-6.1-sol has been callable on QCode since 2026-09-30; QCode bills per token, with per-model rates on /models. OpenAI's official price is $2 input, $10 output and $0.10 cached input per 1M tokens. As of 2026-10-20, models from OpenAI available on QCode include gpt-6.1-sol, gpt-6-astra and gpt-6-sol; QCode does not currently support gpt-6-luna, so please use another GPT model. The live /models page is the authority.
What are dots, and what do they have to do with the API?
dots are always-on agents released the same day. OpenAI describes them as powered by GPT-6 Astra, connecting to more than 4,000 apps with their own cloud computer and browser, rolling out to Pro 100, Pro 200 and Pro 500 (users over 18 outside the EEA, UK and Switzerland), Business Premium and Enterprise. It is a ChatGPT product surface, not a model id you can put in code.
What is Pro 500, and how does it relate to the 20-plus DevDay announcements?
Pro 500 is the ChatGPT subscription tier announced at DevDay 2026: $500 per month, described by OpenAI as the highest usage allowance (25 times ChatGPT Plus) and including Ultrafast. GPT-6 Astra Ultrafast is available in Codex and ChatGPT Work on Pro 500 and eligible Enterprise and Edu plans. The other product surfaces (ChatGPT Space, Pages, collaborative slides, @ChatGPT, the Meetings plugin, Sign in with ChatGPT, Marketplace, Bedrock Managed Agents, plugin extensions) are not interfaces or models and appear here only as a list.
Sources
Seven official OpenAI pages: the API changelog, the gpt-6.1-sol model page, pricing, deprecations, the Codex model documentation, the latest-model guide and devday.openai.com. Three launch posts (introducing-gpt-6-1-sol, devday-2026-recap, introducing-dots) were unreachable directly, so we took their 2026-09-29 Wayback snapshots plus openai.com/news/rss.xml. Archives were captured 2026-09-30 02:31–02:44 Beijing time. The site-side claim uses only the 30-day usage record re-checked on 2026-09-30.
Want the GPT-6 family's rates and specs? Start with these three
gpt-6.1-sol (callable since 2026-09-30), gpt-6-astra, gpt-6-sol and claude-opus-5-5 share one QCode key; QCode does not currently support gpt-6-luna, so please use another GPT model; billed per token with per-model rates on /models.
Related pages
GPT-7 Release Date: official status (2026-11-05)
OpenAI has not announced GPT-7 or a date: what the changelog and model overview show, the latest official statement, and third-party estimates and rumors, each with its source.
GPT-6.1 Astra release cancelled
What the outlets reported, what OpenAI actually said, and what is still callable today — a different model id from the gpt-6.1-sol discussed here.
GPT-6 Sol status tracker
Sol's own release and status timeline. After DevDay it remains the coding tier QCode serves from OpenAI.
Crypto payment guide
Nine coins, 56 networks, zero platform fee for AI coding API credits.
Checked 2026-10-20. Statements about capabilities and multiples are OpenAI's own; wording such as «in the coming days / weeks» is kept as published rather than converted into dates, and no benchmark numbers are transcribed. Official prices follow OpenAI's pages. The callable status of gpt-6.1-sol on QCode was verified on 2026-09-30; the live /models page is authoritative. QCode is independent of OpenAI, and usage figures here are an observation, never a service-level commitment.