Usman Salis
Microsoft recently announced that Claude Haiku 4.5 is now available in GitHub Copilot for Visual Studio Code. This integration brings developers a lightweight AI model that matches the coding performance of larger models while running faster and costing significantly less.
What Makes Claude Haiku 4.5 Different
In a recent tweet, Microsoft Developer, Claude Haiku 4.5, built by Anthropic, punches above its weight. Though smaller than Claude Sonnet 4, it delivers comparable coding performance at one-third the cost and more than twice the speed. For developers working in VS Code, this translates to snappier code suggestions, lower bills, and a smoother daily workflow—especially useful for prototyping, debugging, and smaller projects where premium models feel like overkill.
The integration reflects a bigger shift in how developers work with AI. Rather than defaulting to one heavyweight model for everything, teams can now pick the right tool for each task. Need quick suggestions while writing boilerplate code? Haiku's got you covered. Tackling something more complex? Swap to a larger model. This kind of flexibility makes AI assistants more practical and less of a one-size-fits-all proposition.
What This Means for Developers
Microsoft's move signals where the industry is headed: multi-model ecosystems where speed, cost, and capability all factor into the choice. For solo developers and small teams watching their budgets, Haiku offers real relief. For enterprises, it's another option in the toolbox—one that makes AI-assisted coding more scalable without sacrificing quality.
As AI continues weaving itself into development workflows, updates like this matter. They're not flashy, but they make the tech more accessible and practical. Claude Haiku 4.5 in GitHub Copilot isn't just another model drop—it's a sign that AI coding tools are maturing into something developers can actually rely on every day.
Usman Salis
