AIFIRST PSA: Opus 4.8 redefines the effort scale
The brief
System card data suggests 4.8 low effort matches 4.7 max on problem solving, while 4.8 medium burns more tokens than 4.7 high.
Key points
- Max mode scores slightly below x-high on SWE-bench, hinting overthinking degrades results.
Sources
- r/ClaudeAIreddit.com