Apple Developing AI Tool to Help Developers Write Code for Apps

Apple is working on an updated version of Xcode that will include an AI tool for generating code, reports Bloomberg. The AI tool will be similar to GitHub Copilot from Microsoft, which can generate code based on natural language requests and convert code from one programming language to another.

The Xcode AI tool will be able to predict and finish blocks of code, allowing developers to streamline their app creation process. Apple is now testing the functionality internally and plans to release it to third-party software developers "as early as this year."

Apple is also testing AI-generated code for testing apps, and has asked some engineers to try these features out internally.

The artificial intelligence capabilities added to Xcode will join several other AI features that Apple plans to add to Siri and other built-in apps. Some new features could include the option to generate playlists in Apple Music and create slideshows in Keynote, with Apple also working on improved Spotlight search capabilities. Search could encompass specific features in apps and might also provide responses to complex questions, with the feature built using large language models.

According to Bloomberg, Apple software chief Craig Federighi has asked employees to create as many new AI features as possible for iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15. Apple plans to introduce "a slew of new AI features," and iOS 18 will be marketed as one of the biggest updates to the iPhone since it launched. Some of the AI features will come to macOS, but Apple plans to "take a gradual approach to AI development" with some features not coming "for years."