If you’ve been wondering what all the buzz around Open Router’s new stealth models is about — buckle up. Two new models, Sherlock Think Alpha and Dash Alpha, just dropped, and they’re already shaking up the AI space.
Watch the live breakdown below 👇
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The Big Reveal: What Are These Stealth Models?
Open Router quietly released two mysterious new AI models — Sherlock Think Alpha and Dash Alpha — each with a staggering 1.8 million context window and completely free API access (for now).
This drop caught everyone off guard. Some say it’s Gemini 3.0 Pro, others swear it’s Grok 4.2 or even Flash. Nobody knows for sure — but one thing’s certain: these models are fast, capable, and worth testing before they disappear.
Released just two hours before this livestream, they’re brand new frontier models, offering text-only generation (no images yet) and cutting-edge reasoning capabilities inside Sherlock Think Alpha.
How the Tests Went: Live Model Comparison
To see what they could really do, I ran multiple live tests:
- Flappy Bird Game (HTML)
- 🧠 Sherlock Think Alpha: Successfully generated a playable game — colorful, functional, and surprisingly smooth.
- ⚡ Dash Alpha: Failed instantly.
- PS5 Controller in HTML
- 🧠 Think Alpha: Attempted, but failed to generate functional code.
- ⚡ Dash Alpha: Produced a partial result, nostalgic UI but buggy.
- DJ Console with Two-Channel Effects
- ❌ Both models failed completely.
When we compared these results to other models — Claude 4.5 Sonic, Gemini 2.5 Pro, Kimi K2, Ernie 5.0, and MiniMax — Claude absolutely crushed it.
Key Takeaways from Testing
- Sherlock Think Alpha has reasoning ability — it’s slower but smarter.
- Dash Alpha is faster but lacks reasoning and reliability.
- Both have a 1.8M token window — nearly double that of Gemini 2.5 Pro.
- Free API access won’t last long — use it while it’s open.
Community members speculated it’s Grok 4.2, developed by XAI, judging by the emoji-heavy output and style similarities to previous Grok versions.
The “PS5 Controller Test”: The New AI Stress Test
During the livestream, we discovered something funny — the PS5 Controller prompt has become the ultimate coding stress test.
It’s simple but demanding. Most models can’t handle it.
Here’s how they ranked:
🥇 Claude 4.5 Sonic — Fully functional controller with working buttons and analog sticks.
🥈 Kimi K2 — Decent attempt, limited interactivity.
🥉 Gemini 2.5 Pro — Slow and unstable.
💥 Sherlock & Dash Alpha — Totally failed.
This single test revealed how easily many models overpromise but underdeliver.
Other Models Compared
- Claude 4.5 Sonic – Still the king for coding and accuracy.
- Gemini 2.5 Pro – Excellent for logic-based code and API calls.
- Kimi K2 & Ernie 5.0 – Decent free Chinese models, but weaker UI output.
- MiniMax – Totally failed all code-based tests.
In short: Sherlock and Dash Alpha are interesting experiments, but they’re not replacing Claude or Gemini anytime soon.
Community Reactions & Live Polls
During the test, we ran a poll: “Is it Grok or Gemini?”
The majority voted Grok 4.2, based on the structure and language style.
Others noted that the models might come from XAI, given performance metrics and API hosting similarities.
People also observed:
- Frequent output errors on Dash Alpha.
- Sherlock Think Alpha handled reasoning tasks better.
- Both models still lack stability for real development use.
Conclusion: Interesting, But Not Production-Ready
If this really is Grok 4.2, it’s a work-in-progress. Fun to test, unreliable for coding.
Claude remains the best coding model right now. Gemini still leads for workflow and automation. Sherlock Think Alpha shows potential — but it’s not there yet.
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Open Router’s stealth models are worth exploring — but not yet reliable. Test fast before access closes.
