China's Kuaishou has opened access to its new video model, Kling 4.0. The headline: clips of up to 30 seconds in a single pass, up to 10 keyframes and up to 15 references per generation. The model can already be selected in the Kling AI workspace, but some of the headline features are still marked "coming soon."
How the launch unfolded
- September 28 — the lighter Kling 4.0 Flash opened in early access, first for Ultra annual subscribers. Flash is limited to 20 seconds and 720p.
- September 30 — Kuaishou announced the full model and promised an October launch.
- October 15 — according to a Kling release tracker, the full version became generally available on the platform. The developer API is on a separate schedule.
What Kling 4.0 can do
- Length: 3 to 30 seconds in a single pass, without stitching short pieces together. Kling also promises video extension up to 2 minutes.
- Keyframes: up to 10 images along the timeline to shape how the scene develops.
- References: up to 15 per generation — up to 10 images, up to 5 videos totaling up to 30 seconds, up to 7 "elements" (characters or objects) and voice references.
- Aspect ratios: 21:9, 16:9, 1:1 and 9:16.
- Targeted editing of finished video: you can change characters, products, backgrounds, camera angles and visual style.
What isn't live yet
Kling's official page says native 1080p and 4K output with 10-bit HDR is "coming soon." So the headline specs are a promise, not what's available on day one. Kuaishou hasn't published Kling 4.0 credit pricing yet.
What others got wrong
- "Videos in 1080p and 10-bit HDR." Officially, 1080p, 4K and HDR are still marked "coming soon."
- "Edits video while keeping the original audio track." The official page says nothing about keeping audio when editing.
- "15 references to control the camera." 15 is the combined limit for all reference types: images, videos, elements and voice. Camera control is just one use.
What it means for affiliate marketers
- 30 seconds is a full creative. Before, short generations had to be stitched, and faces and objects "jumped" at the joins. Now you can build a 9:16 ad for TikTok, Reels and Shorts in one go.
- One character across all videos. References and "elements" help keep the same hero or product across a series of creatives. That's handy for A/B testing different hooks with the same visuals.
- Fast variations. Targeted editing lets you change the background, product or style without generating from scratch — a cheaper way to multiply creatives for different GEOs.
- Mind platform rules. TikTok and Meta require labeling realistic AI content, and deepfakes of famous people in ads are a direct path to a ban. For building creatives with AI, see our pipeline with prompts for Midjourney, Kling and ElevenLabs, and for the full toolset, our article on AI tools for affiliate marketing.