Anthropic extends Claude Fable 5 availability on paid plans through July 19 due to compute constraints, while OpenAI removes usage limits for GPT-5.6 Sol to attract users.
# Fable gets another bump
Source: [https://simonwillison.net/2026/Jul/12/bump/](https://simonwillison.net/2026/Jul/12/bump/)
12th July 2026
One of the consequences of GPT\-5\.6 Sol being clearly a Fable/Mythos class model is that Anthropic have, once again,[bumped the date](https://x.com/claudeai/status/2076351399999557669)that Fable stops being available in their Claude Max plans:
> We're extending Claude Fable 5 access on all paid plans, as well as keeping Claude Code’s weekly rate limits 50% higher, through July 19\. As before, you can use up to half of your weekly usage limit on Fable 5\. After that, you can continue using Fable 5 with usage credits, or switch to another model to keep working within your remaining limits\.
Anthropic's original rationale for this was compute constraints \- they wanted a better idea of both demand and compute availability before committing to keeping the new model cheap for subscribers\.
OpenAI appear confident that they won't need to restrict access to GPT\-5\.6 in the same way\. Here's Tibo[this morning](https://twitter.com/thsottiaux/status/2076365965915467978):
> The last 48 hours of Codex and ChatGPT Work have been intense\! Three important updates: - Temporarily removing the 5 hour usage limit restriction for all Plus, Business and Pro plans - Rolling out changes that will make GPT 5\.6 Sol more efficient across the board and that will be reflected in less usage being used so that it can take you further\. Exact impact to be quantified and shared - We hit 6M active users, and are landing a usage reset in the next hour
At this point I think Anthropic should change track and keep Fable permanently available on those plans\. OpenAI are winning users simply due to the uncertainty that surrounds Fable access\.
Anthropic will charge consumers additional usage-based fees to access Claude Fable 5 starting July 12, marking a shift from flat subscription pricing for frontier AI models.
A developer from a large, AI-bullish company explains that Anthropic's data retention policy on Fable prevents its use, leading the company to heavily adopt GPT-5.6 Sol instead.
Anthropic is offering limited-time promotional access to its newest model, Claude Fable 5, allowing subscribers to use up to 50% of their weekly usage limits on the model at no extra cost during July 1-7, 2026.