Skip to main content Tom's Guide Tom's Guide Search Tom's Guide View Profile Newsletters Best Picks Entertainment Prime Day Deals LIVE Prime Day TV Deals Walmart Deals Prime Day Laptop Deals Switch 2 Restock Best laptops Wordle Today Best Mattress Recommended reading Grok 3 is free to all X users — here's how to use it I used Grok's free new Studio AI tool to make a website, research paper and browser game — here's what happened OpenAI just launched new GPT 4.1 model ahead of GPT 5 — here’s what it can do OpenAI just made 5 major moves — what it means for you and ChatGPT OpenAI just launched its smartest AI yet that can think with images — here's how to try it OpenAI has started a new podcast — 6 things it reveals about ChatGPT's future ChatGPT just got way better at search — and Google should be worried Grok 4 is live — here’s what makes it Elon Musk’s most advanced AI yet Amanda Caswell 10 July 2025 Deeper thinking and greater reasoning is promised When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Shutterstock) An hour after the live stream was supposed to start last night (July 9), Elon Musk and a few members of his xAI team introduced us to Grok 4 on xAi. The long-winded announcement shared the news of multimodal features, faster reasoning and an upgraded interface, something Musk compared to an era of "Big Bang Intelligence." The release comes amid growing backlash over racist responses from Grok’s earlier versions, prompting public outcry and renewed scrutiny over content moderation (or the lack thereof). You may like Grok 3 is free to all X users — here's how to use it I used Grok's free new Studio AI tool to make a website, research paper and browser game — here's what happened OpenAI just launched new GPT 4.1 model ahead of GPT 5 — here’s what it can do To add fuel to the fire, xAI’s chief scientist, Igor Babuschkin, resigned earlier in the day, just hours before the launch. On paper, Grok 4 is Musk’s most ambitious AI model yet. The model is expected to rival OpenAI’s GPT-5 and Anthropic’s Claude 4 Opus, both of which have recently dominated headlines for their real-time speed, reasoning and advanced vision. "We've run out of test questions to ask," Musk boasted during the launch, adding "Reality is the ultimate reasoning test." But Grok isn’t just trying to compete; it’s trying to survive a credibility crisis. The platform’s unfiltered “free speech” approach has led to concerning outputs, including racist and biased content that circulated widely over the weekend. Sign up to get the BEST of Tom's Guide direct to your inbox. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. That’s raised big questions about how much testing and guard-railing xAI has actually done, especially as it rushes toward real-time, humanlike interaction. Musk, who has increasingly positioned xAI as a foil to “woke” models like ChatGPT and Gemini, has been largely silent on the controversy. Whether Grok 4 represents a true leap forward, or just more chaos in a faster wrapper, remains to be seen. Freatures and weaknesses (Image credit: Grok live stream) Advanced reasoning: Grok 4 has been trained on xAI’s Colossus supercomputer for advanced, scientist-grade reasoning. The model promises stronger logical reasoning and text generation. Uses same model physicists use”Clarify: “Trained on xAI’s Colossus supercomputer for advanced, scientist-grade reasoning”Mentions of recent controversies. A coding-focused variant: Developers will appreciate Grok 4 Code, a specialized model designed to write, debug and explain code more efficiently, echoing tools like GitHub Copilot or GPT-4 Code Interpreter. Multimodal capabilities: Grok 4 is expected to support not only text, but images and possibly video, with Musk mentioning that's one of their biggest weaknesses. Better multimodal capabilities would bring the model closer competition with OpenAI’s GPT-5o and Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro. Grok 4 may support video at some point. Voice features: Grok 4 Voice features a natural, human-like voice with fewer interruptions. Real-time web access: Like earlier Grok models, Grok 4 features DeepSearch, a tool that pulls in live data from the web, especially from Musk’s X platform. That means Grok can provide up-to-date results during chats — no separate tab or browser needed. Cultural fluency and meme smarts: One of Grok’s biggest differentiators is its understanding of internet culture. Grok 4 is being tuned to interpret memes, slang and humor with high accuracy, potentially making it one of the most "online" AI assistants yet. Final thoughts With OpenAI preparing GPT-5 and Google pushing Gemini even further, the launch of Grok 4 is part of the growing arms race between major tech companies. But while others focus on reliability and alignment, xAI is betting on personality, humor and speed and a strong developer base. If Grok 4 lives up to the hype, it could appeal to power users who want real-time search, smart coding help, and fewer guardrails. But it remains to be seen whether this edgier, uncensored AI can avoid the pitfalls that plagued its predecessors. Grok 4 is a big swing from Elon Musk. It's bold, controversial and packed with features meant to challenge the norms of AI assistants. More from Tom's Guide Forget ChatGPT — 4 reasons why you should try this chatbot you've (probably) never heard of I cleaned out 100+ email lists with Gmail’s new unsubscribe tool — here’s how you can too 5 hidden ChatGPT tricks most people don’t use — but they’re actually game changers Back to Laptops AMD Ryzen 7 Intel Core i3 Intel Core i5 Intel Core i7 Storage Size Screen Size Refurbished Screen Type Storage Type Showing 10 of 141 deals Apple 13" MacBook Air M4 (2025) (256GB Blue) $849Preorder Apple 15" MacBook Air M4 (2025) (15-inch 1TB) $1,599View Dell XPS 13 (2016) Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 9) (512GB OLED) $858.11View Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i ChromeBook Plus (14-inch 128GB) Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) (14-inch 1TB) $1,799.99View Apple 13" MacBook Air M4 (2025) Apple 15" MacBook Air M4 (2025) (16GB RAM SSD) $1,035View Dell XPS 13 Plus (13.4-inch) $1,049.99View Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 9) $979.99View Amanda Caswell Social Links Navigation Amanda Caswell is an award-winning journalist, bestselling YA author, and one of today’s leading voices in AI and technology. A celebrated contributor to various news outlets, her sharp insights and relatable storytelling have earned her a loyal readership. Amanda’s work has been recognized with prestigious honors, including outstanding contribution to media. Known for her ability to bring clarity to even the most complex topics, Amanda seamlessly blends innovation and creativity, inspiring readers to embrace the power of AI and emerging technologies. As a certified prompt engineer, she continues to push the boundaries of how humans and AI can work together. Beyond her journalism career, Amanda is a bestselling author of science fiction books for young readers, where she channels her passion for storytelling into inspiring the next generation. A long-distance runner and mom of three, Amanda’s writing reflects her authenticity, natural curiosity, and heartfelt connection to everyday life — making her not just a journalist, but a trusted guide in the ever-evolving world of technology. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Grok 3 is free to all X users — here's how to use it I used Grok's free new Studio AI tool to make a website, research paper and browser game — here's what happened OpenAI just launched new GPT 4.1 model ahead of GPT 5 — here’s what it can do OpenAI just made 5 major moves — what it means for you and ChatGPT OpenAI just launched its smartest AI yet that can think with images — here's how to try it OpenAI has started a new podcast — 6 things it reveals about ChatGPT's future Latest in AI Forget Chrome — this new AI browser is changing how people search the web Google just made solving Wordle way easier — here’s how The first truly copyright-free AI video generator has arrived — here's what we know Google search results feel worse lately? 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Galaxy Z Fold 7 vs iPhone Fold — Samsung just put Apple on notice 5 best movies like 'Heads of State' to stream on Netflix, Prime Video and more 7 Backcountry outdoor gear deals that blow Amazon Prime Day out of the water Epic Samsung deals! Pre-order the Galaxy Z Fold 7 or Z Flip 7 to score a free storage upgrade, plus 30% off the latest Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Buds products Tom's Guide is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site. Terms and conditions Contact Future's experts Privacy policy Cookies policy Accessibility Statement Advertise with us Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, Please login or signup to comment Please wait...