---
id: "2026-05-07-openai-gpt-realtime-2-translate-whisper"
url: "https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-05-07-openai-gpt-realtime-2-translate-whisper/"
as_of: "2026-11-13T13:49:00+01:00"
date: "2026-05-07"
date_precision: day
category: model-release
importance: 3
confidence: high
status: [Confirmed]
sources: 7
editor: human editor
human_review: null
version: "2026-10-04"
---

As of: 2026-11-13 13:49 CET.
Researched and written by AI agents (Claude Opus 5.5 in Claude Code), with a human editor. How we work: https://postcutoff.com/about/
Canonical page: https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-05-07-openai-gpt-realtime-2-translate-whisper/

# OpenAI releases GPT-Realtime-2, GPT-Realtime-Translate and GPT-Realtime-Whisper

Full title: OpenAI releases GPT-Realtime-2 (reasoning voice), GPT-Realtime-Translate and GPT-Realtime-Whisper

On 2026-05-07 OpenAI added three streaming audio models to its Realtime API: gpt-realtime-2, its first speech-to-speech model with configurable reasoning effort and a 128K context; gpt-realtime-translate for live speech-to-speech interpretation (70+ input, 13 output languages, $0.034/min); and gpt-realtime-whisper for streaming transcription ($0.017/min).

## Key facts
- gpt-realtime-2: text $4 / $24, audio $32 / $64 per 1M tokens; 128K context (up from 32K), 32K max output
- gpt-realtime-translate: v1/realtime/translations endpoint, 70+ input and 13 output languages (press), $0.034 per minute
- gpt-realtime-whisper: streaming speech-to-text, tunable latency, $0.017 per minute
- Benchmarks (OpenAI launch post, quoted by secondary sources; post itself 403 to our tools): gpt-realtime-2 (high) +15.2% on Big Bench Audio vs gpt-realtime-1.5; (xhigh) +13.8% on Audio MultiChallenge instruction following. One blog gives 96.6% absolute on Big Bench Audio at xhigh (unconfirmed)
- Superseded by gpt-realtime-2.1 on 2026-07-06 and, for transcription, gpt-live-transcribe on 2026-07-28

## What happened

OpenAI shipped three Realtime API models the same day. GPT-Realtime-2 brings adjustable reasoning to speech-to-speech
voice agents (press described it as GPT-5-class reasoning) and quadruples the context to 128K tokens. GPT-Realtime-Translate
is a dedicated simultaneous-interpretation model billed per minute. GPT-Realtime-Whisper streams transcripts from live audio.

## Why it matters

Reasoning moved into the low-latency voice loop instead of being bolted on via a separate text model, and live
translation became a standalone API product, a month before Google's Gemini 3.5 Live Translate.

The official post (openai.com) could not be fetched by our tools; language counts come from press coverage.

## Your AI and this story

- GPT-6 Astra (training cutoff April 2026): 7 days after its cutoff
- Claude Opus 5.5 (training cutoff June 2026): in its training data
- Gemini 4 Hydrogen (training cutoff March 2026): 37 days after its cutoff
- Grok 4.7 (training cutoff May 2026): in its training data

## Sources

1. [OpenAI - Advancing voice intelligence with new models in the API](https://openai.com/index/advancing-voice-intelligence-with-new-models-in-the-api/) (openai.com, official)
2. [OpenAI API changelog](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/changelog) (developers.openai.com, docs)
3. [gpt-realtime-2 model page](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/models/gpt-realtime-2) (developers.openai.com, docs)
4. [gpt-realtime-translate model page](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/models/gpt-realtime-translate) (developers.openai.com, docs)
5. [OpenAI Developer Community - New Realtime Voice Models in the API](https://community.openai.com/t/new-realtime-voice-models-in-the-api/1380471) (community.openai.com, official)
6. [Build Fast with AI - GPT-Realtime-2 benchmarks (secondary)](https://blog.buildfastwithai.com/openai-gpt-realtime-2-voice-ai-models) (blog.buildfastwithai.com, press)
7. [gHacks - OpenAI releases three new realtime voice models](https://www.ghacks.net/2026/05/11/openai-releases-three-new-realtime-voice-models-for-the-api-with-gpt-5-class-reasoning/) (ghacks.net, press)

## Changes

- 2026-09-29: Added benchmark deltas (Big Bench Audio, Audio MultiChallenge) from secondary quotes of the 403-blocked launch post, plus OpenAI community announcement link
- 2026-09-29 (filed): Created

## Related

- 2026-07-08: [OpenAI launches GPT-Live, full-duplex voice models replacing ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode](https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-07-08-openai-gpt-live-chatgpt-voice/index.md)
- 2026-06-09: [Google launches Gemini 3.5 Live Translate, voice-preserving real-time speech translation in 70+ languages](https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-06-09-gemini-3-5-live-translate/index.md)
- Models: [GPT-Realtime-2](https://postcutoff.com/m/gpt-realtime-2/) (`gpt-realtime-2`), [GPT-Realtime-Translate](https://postcutoff.com/m/gpt-realtime-translate/) (`gpt-realtime-translate`), [GPT-Realtime-Whisper](https://postcutoff.com/m/gpt-realtime-whisper/) (`gpt-realtime-whisper`)