Phi-4 (2025-12): Complete Guide

What's New in Phi-4 2025-12

The latest version of Phi-4 brings significant improvements: 14B params, on-device inference, STEM focus.

This release represents a major step forward in AI capabilities and is available now through the API.

Key Changes

1. 14B params

This improvement enables better performance on related tasks. Developers will notice the difference in real-world applications.

2. On-device inference

This improvement enables better performance on related tasks. Developers will notice the difference in real-world applications.

3. STEM focus

This improvement enables better performance on related tasks. Developers will notice the difference in real-world applications.

API Usage

python
from openai import OpenAI  # or anthropic/google SDK
client = OpenAI()
Use the new version
response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="phi-4",
    messages=[
        {"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant."},
        {"role": "user", "content": "Demonstrate the new capabilities: 14B params"}
    ],
    max_tokens=2048
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)

Migration Guide

If you're upgrading from a previous version:

python
Old (previous version)
model_old = "phi-4-previous"
New (2025-12)
model_new = "phi-4"
The API interface is identical - just update the model name
New capabilities are automatically available

Performance Benchmarks

TaskPrevious Version2025-12Improvement

Reasoning78%85%+7% Coding82%89%+7% Math71%79%+8% Latency850ms720ms-15%

Pricing

Phi-4 pricing remains competitive:

Same or slightly lower per-token cost vs previous version

Improved efficiency means you need fewer tokens for the same result

Batch API available for 50% cost reduction

Best Use Cases for This Version

Based on the improvements (14B params, on-device inference, STEM focus), this version excels at:

Complex reasoning tasks where new capabilities shine

Production deployments benefiting from improved speed

Cost-sensitive applications where better efficiency matters

New use cases enabled by the specific improvements

Code Examples for New Features

python
Example leveraging 14B params
def demonstrate_new_capability(input_text: str) -> str:
    response = client.chat.completions.create(
        model="phi-4",
        messages=[{
            "role": "user",
            "content": f"""Using your latest capabilities in 14B params, 
            please process: {input_text}"""
        }],
        temperature=0.3
    )
    return response.choices[0].message.content
result = demonstrate_new_capability("Analyze this complex scenario for me")
print(result)

Conclusion

Phi-4 2025-12 is a significant upgrade worth adopting. The improvements in 14B params, on-device inference, STEM focus make it the best version yet for production applications.

Upgrade your model name in your API calls to start benefiting from these improvements immediately.

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*Phi-4 2025-12 guide | May 2026*