Apple testing AI on Xcode to predict and generate software codes: Report

Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi has told his developers to come up with as many new AI features as possible for next iOS update, according to reports

Apple is reportedly nearing the completion of a new software tool for app developers, which has more AI capabilities incorporated into it. According to a Bloomberg report, the Cupertino-based tech giant has been working on AI-powered tools for the upcoming version of Xcode, Apple's proprietary programming software and has now expanded testing of features internally. 

The report stated that the company has ramped up the development process of these AI tools and plans to release them to third-party app developers as early as this year.

The upcoming system by Apple will likely work similarly to how Microsoft's GitHub Copilot does by using AI to predict and complete strings of code. Additionally, the company is also exploring the possibility of generating codes using AI to test applications. 

According to the report, people in the know suggest that Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, has told his developers to come up with as many new AI features as possible for the next generation of operating system updates. This move aligns with Apple's commitment to bring generative AI features to its line of product this year. 

According to media reports, Apple plans to add a slew of new AI features to its next iOS and iPadOS software updates as the company does not wish to fall behind the competition. Some of these features have been reported to be capable of generating playlists in Apple Music, summarising texts and suggesting responses to messages. Internally, Apple believes that the upcoming major system update, codenamed Crystal, will be one of the most significant updates in the 16-year history of the iPhone. 

Recent reports have also suggested that Apple has been perfecting its own Large Language model (LLM) to enhance its chat assistant Siri. The company is reportedly working on improving Siri's ability to respond to complex inputs and provide personalised responses using generative AI, much like how Google is adding Gemini to Android smartphones. 

Earlier this month, during Apple's quarterly earnings call, CEO Tim Cook revealed that the company is spending "a tremendous amount of time and effort" into developing AI technology, which will be announced later this year. Apple has also been actively researching in the field of generative AI, which has resulted in multiple papers being published detailing genAI techniques for image and video generation.