Deepseep-v4.1-Flash-1017 is a minor update. A major update is something like Deepseek-v5-Flash.
FWIW, GP didn't write "a bad copy" but "bad copy", referring to the marketing sentence quoted by OP, rather than the model that was just released (as I presume "a bad copy" sounds, maybe like it's called that because it's [again, presumably] distilled?). "Copy", especially in a marketing context, is a written message.
This is just my headcanon though.
An example when using a less frequent term actually reduces specificity.
Also, DS is an excellent model.
These are not mutually exclusive.
The CCP requires extensive certification for new major releases, to make sure a model doesn't do anything they don't want it to.
To get around this, Chinese labs only bump versions when they have to and usually claim it's a minor update.
Then on the other side, they're obviously trying to market to the tech crowd...
Would highly recommend it, it's IMO the only serious Western reporting about China.
as good as Gordon Chang.