Update, August 3, 2026: OpenAI’s next major model finally has a name, and it is not GPT-6. On August 1, 2026 the company introduced Astra, announcing it not with a launch but with ten solved open problems in mathematics and theoretical computer science. Astra is not released, with no date, no pricing, no model card and no ChatGPT availability, and OpenAI has not said whether it ships as GPT-6 or as another GPT-5 point release. Everything below is updated to that reality. The “Spud” model everyone expected to become GPT-6 shipped on April 23, 2026 as GPT-5.5, not GPT-6, hitting 88.7% on SWE-bench Verified and 82.7% on Terminal-Bench 2.0 with […]