Claude Opus 4.5: The AI Coding Assistant That Built an iOS App Feature in 20 Minutes
Anthropic has just released Claude Opus 4.5, and the initial results are nothing short of astonishing. In a stunning real-world test, the new model, integrated into the Claude Code desktop application, successfully built a complex iOS feature from a backlog item in just 20 minutes, a task where other leading models had previously struggled. This release isn’t just an incremental update; it’s a significant leap forward that addresses major user complaints and sets a new standard for AI-powered software development.
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One of the most persistent frustrations for users of AI chat applications has been hitting usage limits and having long, complex conversations abruptly cut off. With Claude Opus 4.5, Anthropic claims these issues are a thing of the past. By removing Opus-specific usage caps for paid users and implementing smarter context management, the platform promises a smoother, more reliable user experience, allowing for deeper and more extended interactions without interruption.
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Anthropic just dropped Claude Opus 4.5… It has already solved two problems that Gemini 3 Pro and Codex 5.1 Max were not able to solve for me. That is enough of an indication of how good this model is.
The true test of any AI model lies in its real-world performance, not just its benchmark scores. The latest release from Anthropic has already demonstrated its superiority by tackling two distinct and challenging use cases that both Gemini 3 Pro and GPT-5.1 Codex Max failed to resolve. This immediate success on problems that stumped other state-of-the-art models is a powerful testament to the advanced capabilities of Opus 4.5.
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According to Anthropic’s official announcement, Claude Opus 4.5 is positioned as the premier model for coding, agents, and general computer use. It boasts superior intelligence, efficiency, and is designed to excel at everyday tasks like deep research and working with documents and spreadsheets. The company claims it represents a significant step forward in what AI systems can achieve, promising a preview of larger changes in how work gets done.
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While benchmarks should always be taken with a grain of salt, the initial numbers for Opus 4.5 are impressive. On the SWE-bench for software engineering, it scores significantly higher than its competitors, including Gemini 3 Pro and GPT-5.1 Codex Max. This data, combined with hands-on experience, confirms that the model’s coding and problem-solving abilities are verifiably top-tier. In just the first two hours after its release, it accomplished tasks that other models couldn’t handle, validating these strong benchmark results.
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A deeper look at the benchmarks reveals that Opus 4.5 establishes a new state-of-the-art across a wide range of capabilities. It leads in agentic coding, terminal coding, and tool use. While models like Gemini 3 Pro still hold an edge in specific areas like graduate-level reasoning and visual analysis, Opus 4.5 demonstrates a more dominant and well-rounded performance, particularly in tasks related to software engineering and complex instruction following.
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When evaluating multilingual coding capabilities, it’s notable that many benchmarks overlook languages like Swift, which are crucial for iOS development. This is often because AI has historically been less proficient with Apple’s ecosystem. Therefore, a key personal test for any new model is its ability to handle iOS development. Opus 4.5 has shown remarkable improvement in this specific, high-demand area, getting better with each iteration.
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The real-world advantage of Opus 4.5 became clear when tackling a challenging iOS feature. After Gemini 3 Pro and the newly released GPT-5.1 Max both failed to deliver a working solution, Opus 4.5 stepped in and solved the problem seamlessly. This practical success underscores its superior ability to understand and execute complex software development tasks.
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The Claude Developer Platform has also received significant upgrades. The model is now smarter, solving problems with fewer steps, less backtracking, and more concise reasoning. Impressively, Opus 4.5 can match the performance of its smaller counterpart, Sonnet 4.5, while using up to 76% fewer output tokens. This means developers get a model that is simultaneously bigger, better, smarter, and more cost-effective.
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Product updates bring powerful new tools to developers. Claude Code now features an enhanced Plan Mode, which builds more precise, user-editable plans before execution, giving developers greater control. Furthermore, the new Claude Code desktop app allows for running multiple local and remote sessions in parallel, dramatically improving workflow efficiency for complex projects.
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Putting the new Claude Code Desktop application to the test, the first step is granting it permission to interact with the local file system. This integration is key to its power, allowing it to function as a true coding partner that can read, write, and modify files directly within your development environment, similar to tools like Aider or MCP Servers. This enables a fluid workflow where the AI can implement changes across the entire codebase.
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The result of this 20-minute coding session is a fully functional historical view for a migraine tracking app, complete with a calendar and data visualizations that mimic the polished interface of Apple Health. This is a non-trivial feature that involves fetching and displaying health data in a sophisticated UI.
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Claude Opus 4.5 in Claude Desktop using Claude Code to build out a feature in my backlog in 20 minutes. One shot. I did not expect it to build this iOS feature so smoothly.
iOS development, particularly when integrating with frameworks like HealthKit, is known for its complexities. The process is rarely straightforward. Yet, in a remarkable demonstration of its capabilities, Opus 4.5 navigated these challenges effortlessly, building the entire feature in a single attempt. This level of performance is a game-changer for mobile developers.
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To test the model’s versatility, a second, completely different challenge was presented: building a complex CRM automation workflow using n8n. While it’s often easier to write such logic in Python, the goal was to push the model’s ability to work within a specific, node-based platform. Using the mcp command-line tool, Claude Code was given access to four different services: Supabase for the database, the n8n instance, a web search tool, and a context server.
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After providing documentation for the required services, Gemini 3 and GPT-5.1 Codex both failed to generate a correct or functional workflow. In contrast, Claude Opus 4.5 successfully constructed the entire complex workflow. The resulting automation may be a “monstrosity” in its complexity, but it works perfectly. This success highlights the model’s advanced reasoning and its ability to solve problems in creative ways, truly thinking outside the box to deliver a solution where others could not.