Launch Thinking Toggle in ChatGPT Android App

OpenAI has introduced a Thinking toggle in the ChatGPT Android app, allowing users to control the model's reasoning time before responding.

Feature Details

The Thinking toggle offers three modes: Auto, Instant, and Thinking. 'Auto' adapts based on the prompt. 'Instant' delivers faster replies with minimal inference, while 'Thinking' provides deeper reasoning at the cost of increased latency and server-side computation. This feature is aimed at reducing errors and delivering more comprehensive responses for tasks like multi-step analysis and code review.

Currently, this control is exclusive to ChatGPT Plus subscribers, with a phased rollout. Free-tier users will continue to receive responses with the standard reasoning budget.

Android Rollout

The introduction of this toggle brings parity with the desktop app's Extended Thinking option. However, it is not yet available on iOS. As Android holds a significant share of the global smartphone market, the feature targets creators, analysts, and developers who need to balance latency with response depth on mobile devices.

Additional Updates

The update also adds a paragraph-style editable block for drafting and editing outputs directly within the app. This helps users refine generated content without re-running prompts, streamlining the document editing process.

Update: 31 Dec 2025