Anthropic’s new Claude 4.5 just launched, and Anthropic claims it's the company's most powerful AI model yet. With the ability to run for 30+ hours on autonomous coding tasks, Claude 4.5 promises to be a powerhouse model for everything from coding to nuanced reasoning.
And while the benchmarks are impressive, sometimes the best way to test what a new model can do, is to give it a try yourself. The new Claude is free for all users, although subscribers get more tokens to use the model longer. So, let's see just how impressive this new model is with 7 prompts that show off what Claude 4.5 can (and can’t) do right now.
1. Build a mini app
Prompt: “Write a simple budgeting app in Python that lets me input expenses, categories, and shows a weekly summary.”
In less than two minutes, Claude 4.5 created a useful budgeting app that fulfilled all the prompt requests. Simple, yes, but it gets the job done. It's clear that based on the speed and usability of this app, Claude 4.5 has made big gains in coding and can scaffold usable software quite quickly.
2. Travel planning with multi-step reasoning
Prompt: “Plan a 7-day European itinerary with train travel only, balancing cost, culture, and family-friendly activities.”
In lightning speed, Claude 4.5 knocked out a comprehensive and completely useable travel itinerary with a variety of family-friendly activites and a cost breakdown. Anthropic claims the new model shines when it comes to multi-step reasoning, and in this test, it did not disappoint. It balanced all variables with ease.
3. Debugging marathon
Prompt: “Here’s a broken code snippet [paste code]. Debug it, explain what was wrong, and suggest two alternative fixes.”
This broken code was an obvious fix, but judging by how fast Claude 4.5 generated multiple solutions in seconds, I know this will come in handy for vibe coding.
Whether you're just starting with vibe coding or have been coding for years, Claude 4.5 seems like it could make this kind of work smoother and more productive, especially with the ability to run longer "autonomous sessions."
4. Real-world instructions
Prompt: “Explain how to set up a home Wi-Fi mesh network with three routers, step by step, including diagrams in ASCII.”
Testing this prompt was a jaw-dropping moment for me. You'd think by now I'd be over the speed, but it's truly unreal just how quickly Claude 4.5 generates the response and with incredible accuracy. One great thing about speed, other than the obvious of not waiting, the faster a model can generate a response, the less of a hit the environment takes.
The step-by-step instructions are detailed and easy to follow, which makes me want to remember Claude next time I need something broken down in simpler steps.
5. Creative storytelling
Prompt: “Pretend you’re a film director. Pitch me a 3-scene short film about humans teaching AI how to dance.”
I laughed out loud at the responses. Claude 4.5 knocked this one out of the park with funny, interesting and thought-provoking film ideas. I recently wrote about how AI creativity is basic math, but I have to say, Claude feels fresher than other chatbots. It can handle storytelling with style and emotion.
I wish I could include the entire response here, but am limited for space. I encourage you to try this prompt on either this idea or one of your own. I already know what I'll be doing this evening.
6. Math under pressure
Prompt: “Solve this: A factory produces 120 widgets in 4 hours with 6 machines. How many machines are needed to produce 900 widgets in 10 hours?”
Whether you're a math whiz or struggle with it like me, Claude 4.5 could be the ultimate sidekick for working through quick word problems. It breaks down the steps and shows the work, which I find helpful. As a mom of a fifth grader, who hasn't had to think through a math word problem in years, I'm a little rusty and might need to use Claude to keep up with him.
7. Computer-use challenge
Prompt: “Act as if you’re navigating a desktop. Open a folder, create a file called draft.txt, add the line ‘Hello Claude 4.5’ and show me the file tree.”
I just had to try this prompt since the model is touted as more capable with "computer use." This prompt supports this claim. I can think of several uses where this prompt could support productivity and efficiency such as training new hires, assisting older computer users and cleaning up files.
The takeaway
These seven different prompts showcase the wide range of abilities from Anthropic's Claude 4.5, Is it the smartest model yet? I encourage you to give these prompts a test as well as some of your own to see if the hype holds up.
I'm impressed so far and plan to keep testing it. But one thing is clear, Anthropic is pushing Claude toward a future of faster, smarter and more autonomous agents.
Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
More from Tom's Guide
- OpenAI just launched Sora 2 — here’s how to join the waitlist
- I’ve been married 12 years — these 5 ChatGPT prompts help keep the peace when life gets chaotic
- 5 hidden Alexa+ features I actually use every day
![HIDevolution [2025] ASUS ROG...](https://images.fie.futurecdn.net/products/60cbb9059616003fe7353df7bc0e56e02dd01b3c-100-80.jpg.webp "HIDevolution [2025] ASUS ROG...")
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.
