xAI launched Grok 4.3 Beta on April 17, but the timing was delicate — Anthropic released Claude Opus 4.7 the same day. With two announcements overlapping, discussion around Grok 4.3 was inevitably diluted.
Still, the 4.3 update has several noteworthy aspects.
What's New
Video Input Arrives
Grok 4.20 could only handle images; 4.3 adds native video analysis. Users can directly share video clips and have Grok read the content and answer questions.
Direct Document Generation
Documents can be generated directly in the chat window:
- Formatted PDFs
- Fully populated Excel spreadsheets
- PowerPoint slides
For users who frequently compile reports, this is a highly practical addition.
Developer Voice API: Pricing Stands Out
The simultaneously opened STT (speech-to-text) and TTS (text-to-speech) APIs are priced significantly lower than mainstream competitors:
| Service | Grok 4.3 | OpenAI | ElevenLabs |
|---|---|---|---|
| TTS (per million characters) | $4.20 | $30+ | $30+ |
| STT (streaming, per hour) | $0.20 | $0.36 | - |
That's 86-92% cheaper than competitors — a substantial gap.
STT supports over 25 languages with speaker diarization and word-level timestamps; TTS offers 5 voices, 20+ languages, and supports emotion tags such as [laugh], [sigh], and [whisper].
Retained Core Advantages
Two key features carried over from 4.20:
- 2M token context window: the largest among Western closed-source models
- 16-agent Heavy parallel system: can run 16 sub-agents simultaneously for complex multi-step tasks
The parameter count is approximately 0.5T, and a 1T-scale model has reportedly completed training but is not yet fully deployed.
$300 with No Memory: The Biggest Drawback
Grok 4.3 Beta is only available to SuperGrok Heavy subscribers at $300 per month.
But as of now, Grok still lacks conversation memory. Every session requires re-introducing background, preferences, and work context. This is understandable for a $20/month tool, but hard to justify at $300:
- Claude Max at $200/month → has Project memory
- ChatGPT Pro at $200/month → has memory
- Grok Heavy at $300/month → no memory
xAI is likely aware this is a pain point, but the update did not address it.
Who It Competes With, and On What
Grok 4.3's direction is multimodal generation and developer tools: video understanding, document generation, and cheap voice APIs.
Claude Opus 4.7's direction is deep reasoning and agentic tasks: stronger multi-step execution and more reliable agent performance.
The two products have different positioning and are not entirely direct competitors.
For voice product developers, Grok 4.3's TTS/STT pricing advantage is clear. For individual users wanting a versatile daily AI assistant, the $300/month price tag with no memory may be the main reason to hesitate.
A full release is expected in mid-to-late May.
Sources: Grok 4.3 Review: What's New in xAI's Latest Model (April 2026) (TechSifted); CocoLoop, xAI rolls out Grok 4.3 beta for SuperGrok Heavy subscribers (PiunikaWeb)