Users Accuse Anthropic of 'AI Shrinkflation' After Measuring 67% Drop in Claude Opus 4.6 Thinking Tokens

Independent measurements show Claude Opus 4.6 generating 67% fewer thinking tokens than previous versions at the same price point. Anthropic reportedly said nothing until the data went public.

A growing backlash is forming around what users are calling "AI shrinkflation" — independent measurements indicating that Claude Opus 4.6 now produces roughly 67% fewer thinking tokens than its predecessors, with no corresponding price reduction. The data, which went viral via @RoundtableSpace, has fueled speculation that Anthropic is quietly cutting compute costs ahead of a next-generation model release.

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