Last updated: 1 October 2026
Last verified: 1 October 2026, against the official OpenAI GPT-4o announcement (openai.com/index/hello-gpt-4o).
OpenAI’s “Spring Updates” event brought a surprise: instead of the rumoured GPT-5 or a ChatGPT search engine, the company unveiled GPT-4o — a free-for-everyone multimodal model handling voice, text and vision — plus a new ChatGPT desktop app.
Quick answer
At its “Spring Updates” event on 13 May 2024, OpenAI surprised everyone by unveiling GPT-4o instead of the rumoured GPT-5 or search engine. GPT-4o handles voice, text and vision, is free for everyone, and throws in premium features like ChatGPT memory and image uploads; a paid version offers beefed-up capacity. The demo showed a wonky breathing exercise, emotional storytelling, camera-based surroundings analysis with facial-expression reading, live translation, and a new ChatGPT desktop app with coding help. Rollout was promised in the coming weeks.
At a glance
| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Made by | OpenAI |
| Type | Product launch event (livestream) |
| Launched | 13 May 2024 (“Spring Updates” event) |
| Price | GPT-4o free for everyone; paid version with beefed-up capacity (price not stated) |
| Free plan | Yes — GPT-4o free of charge, AI for the masses |
| Availability | Rollout promised in the coming weeks (from May 2024) |
| Best for | Anyone curious about the GPT-4o launch |
| Our rating | Not rated — no hands-on testing performed |
In one line: OpenAI’s Spring Updates event skipped the rumours and launched GPT-4o — free, multimodal, and coming to a desktop near you.
Key takeaways
- No GPT-5 or search engine — OpenAI unveiled GPT-4o, free for everyone, handling voice, text and vision.
- Premium freebies thrown in: ChatGPT memory and image uploads; a paid tier adds beefed-up capacity.
- Demos included a breathing exercise, emotional storytelling, camera analysis with facial-expression reading, live translation, and a ChatGPT desktop app.
- Caveat: this is a May 2024 event recap — the author’s verdict (“do we want our AI to feel too human?”) still reads well as history.
In this article
- What was OpenAI’s “Spring Updates” event?
- How does GPT-4o work?
- Rumours vs reality: what was announced?
- What are the pros and cons of GPT-4o?
- How much does GPT-4o cost?
- Our take: the Spring Updates event
- Verdict: was the event worth the hype?
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
What was OpenAI’s “Spring Updates” event?
If you’ve been tuned into the latest buzz in the digital realm, you’ve probably caught wind of OpenAI’s much-anticipated “Spring Updates” event. Well, guess what? It’s time to spill the tea on what went down.
Picture this: the tech world was abuzz with speculation. Would OpenAI drop a bombshell announcement like a ChatGPT-powered search engine? Or perhaps the mythical GPT-5 would finally make its debut? The rumor mill was churning, and anticipation was at an all-time high. But hold onto your hats, because OpenAI had a surprise up its sleeve. Instead of the expected bombshells, they unveiled something even juicier—enter GPT-4o, the new kid on the AI block.
How does GPT-4o work?
But what makes GPT-4o tick? Let’s break it down. This bad boy is like the Swiss Army knife of AI, capable of handling voice, text, and even vision. Here’s how to think about using it, based on the event demo:
- Step 1: Chat with ChatGPT by voice or text — GPT-4o handles both.
- Step 2: Toss in some images to spice things up — GPT-4o’s got your back on vision too.
- Step 3: Use the premium features thrown in for free — ChatGPT’s memory (yep, it remembers your convos) and uploading images to chat about.
- Step 4: Optionally upgrade to the paid version with beefed-up capacity — “like upgrading to first class for your virtual buddy.”
- Step 5: Try the demo’s party tricks — live translation on the fly, camera-based analysis of your surroundings, and the ChatGPT desktop app for chatting or coding help.
Rumours vs reality: what was announced?
| Feature | Rumours before the event | What OpenAI actually unveiled |
|---|---|---|
| Headline announcement | A ChatGPT-powered search engine, or the mythical GPT-5 | GPT-4o — “the new kid on the AI block” |
| Access | Unknown | Free for everyone — “AI for the masses” |
| Capabilities | Unknown | Voice, text and vision, plus memory and image uploads |
| Extras | — | A ChatGPT desktop app with coding help |
| Rollout | — | Promised in the coming weeks |
This comparison is drawn from the article’s own rumour-vs-reality framing: the tech world expected bombshells, and OpenAI surprised everyone with GPT-4o instead.
What are the pros and cons of GPT-4o?
Pros
- GPT-4o free for everyone — “AI for the masses”, not just the elite few.
- Multimodal Swiss Army knife: voice, text and vision, with memory and image uploads thrown in as freebies.
- Live translation on the fly and a ChatGPT desktop app that helps with coding.
Cons
- Camera analysis that reads facial expressions — “talk about invasion of privacy”, in the author’s words.
- The demo’s breathing exercise “got a bit wonky” — the model isn’t perfect.
- The existential caveat: “do we really want our AI to feel too human?”
How much does GPT-4o cost?
Now, what sets GPT-4o apart from its predecessors? Well, for starters, it’s not just for the elite few. Nope, OpenAI is shaking things up by making GPT-4o available to everyone, absolutely free of charge. That’s right, folks, AI for the masses! But hey, if you’re feeling fancy and want to unlock some extra goodies, you can opt for the paid version with beefed-up capacity. It’s like upgrading to first class for your virtual buddy.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free of charge | GPT-4o for everyone, including premium features like ChatGPT memory and image uploads |
| Paid | Price not stated in the article | Beefed-up capacity — “first class for your virtual buddy” |
Our take: the Spring Updates event
What the article reports: a personality-driven recap of OpenAI’s Spring Updates event — the rumours, the GPT-4o surprise, the demos (breathing, storytelling, camera, translation) and the desktop app.
What stands out: the candid privacy unease — an AI that “peeks through your camera” and reads facial expressions giving the author “the heebie-jeebies” — is refreshingly honest for launch-day coverage.
What’s missing: specs, benchmarks, prices, dates — this is event colour, not a technical brief, and it doesn’t pretend otherwise.
Bottom line: a fun contemporary recap that reads well as history; the “too human?” question it ends on has only grown more relevant. Note: this article was originally published on 13 May 2024.
Verdict: was the event worth the hype?
The article’s own verdict: “GPT-4o is undeniably impressive, but it’s got us pondering: do we really want our AI to feel too human? Food for thought, folks.” On those terms — a free, multimodal model plus a desktop app, with rollout promised in weeks — the event delivered. Today, treat this as a historical record of the day GPT-4o arrived, not as current product information.
Frequently asked questions
OpenAI unveiled GPT-4o — not the rumoured GPT-5 or a ChatGPT-powered search engine. The event also showed off a new ChatGPT desktop app.
According to the article, OpenAI made GPT-4o available to everyone, absolutely free of charge — including premium features like ChatGPT memory and image uploads. A paid version with beefed-up capacity was also offered.
The demo showed a breathing exercise, emotional storytelling, camera-based analysis of surroundings including facial-expression reading, live translation, and a ChatGPT desktop app that helps with coding.
The article said GPT-4o would be rolling out in the coming weeks after the 13 May 2024 event.
Sources
- Official OpenAI GPT-4o announcement — checked during this update; confirms the GPT-4o launch and capabilities reported in the article.
- OpenAI Announces Launch Of GPT-4o — the article’s own “GPT-4o” link.
Arva Rangwala covers AI news, AI tools, guides and prompts for OpenAIMaster — what is new, what is worth using, and how to put AI to work.
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