AI-enhanced Xcode rumored to lead Apple’s push into AI-boosted iOS, macOS

One of the areas where generative AI can help with work is in software development. Developers deal with thousands of lines of code, and AI can boost a developer’s productivity. According to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple has plans to use AI to help software developers.

Gurman reports that the next major version of Xcode, Apple’s integrated development environment for writing software, will have AI-based features. AI can be used to write blocks of code, which saves time. Apple also plans to use AI for testing software. Gurman said that Apple engineers are “dogfooding,” which means they are using Xcode with these AI features in their own software projects. 

Those software projects include the next major versions of its operating systems. Gurman reports that Apple VP Craig Federighi, “has told his teams to develop as many new AI features as possible for this year’s operating system updates.” iOS 18, which has the code name Crystal, will be one of “the most significant updates in the 16-year history of the iPhone.” AI is also coming to macOS 15, which is code-named Glow.

What the AI-based features are in the operating systems is not known, but Gurman reports that Spotlight could get an AI revamp. Other features include AI-based automated creation, such as playlists in Apple Music, and slideshows in Keynote. A report earlier this week found that Apple bought the iwork.ai web domain, and two weeks ago, Apple released an open-source AI model called MLLM-Guided Image Editing that can be used to edit images based on a user’s written commands.

During Apple’s first-quarter financial statement, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed Apple’s push into AI, stating that details will be revealed “later this year.” That reveal could come at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June. Another report said that an iPhone with AI features won’t come until 2025, so WWDC could be filled with demos of features that won’t be available until a date beyond the typical fall release. But Gurman’s article indicates a sense of urgency within Apple, so perhaps AI will be coming sooner than later.