At the 2025 WWDC conference, Apple announced the opening of its artificial intelligence technology to the developer community, launching the Foundation Models framework and an upgraded version of Xcode26, marking a major breakthrough for Apple in the field of AI development tools.
Foundation Models Framework: Privacy-Centric AI Integration Solution
Apple's new Foundation Models framework provides developers with a centralized set of tools to directly embed Apple's proprietary AI models into applications. The biggest highlight of this framework is that it runs entirely on the device locally without any cloud connection, ensuring user privacy while providing free access for developers.
The framework is built directly into the Swift programming language, allowing developers to access Apple Intelligence features with just three lines of code. Core functions such as "guided generation" and "tool invocation" are pre-installed, significantly lowering the technical barriers for integrating generative AI into existing applications.
The diary application "Day One" from Automattic has already adopted this framework, offering users "privacy-centric intelligent features".
App Intents Upgrade: Visual Search Capabilities Shared Across the System
Apple also upgraded App Intents, enabling developers to extend application functionalities to system-wide usage scenarios. The latest version adds visual intelligence support, allowing applications to display visual search results directly in system-level locations such as Siri, Spotlight search, and widgets, with users able to jump directly to the corresponding application from the search results.
Etsy, an e-commerce platform, has applied this function to optimize product searches in its iOS app. According to Etsy CTO Rafe Colburn, many creative items on the platform are difficult to describe accurately in words, and the visual search function is helping buyers discover unique products from small sellers.
Xcode26: AI Assistant Enters the Development Environment
The release of Xcode26 brings developers direct-integrated AI coding assistants. Developers can now use ChatGPT directly within the IDE without needing a personal OpenAI account. It also supports adding other AI models via API keys or running local models on Macs equipped with Apple Silicon chips.
New Xcode AI tools cover the entire development process, including automatic code generation, test writing, documentation creation, error analysis, and iterative design concepts. The code editor provides intelligent suggestions based on context, such as creating Playgrounds, error fixes, or generating preview views.
In addition to AI features, Xcode26 optimizes the user interface, improves navigation experience, localized directory management, and accessibility design. Developers can now dictate Swift code via voice or navigate the entire Xcode interface using voice commands, further enhancing development efficiency.
macOS Tahoe: Spotlight Transforms into an All-Purpose Command Center
Apple also released a major upgrade for Spotlight in macOS Tahoe at WWDC2025. In response to the growing popularity of AI assistants like ChatGPT and Google Gemini, Apple repositioned Spotlight as an intelligent command center on Macs, supporting the execution of shortcuts and hundreds of operations.
The new Spotlight not only searches for files and applications but can also directly draft emails, set reminders, play podcasts, and more. During a live demonstration, Apple executives showcased how users could complete the entire process of drafting and sending an email through Spotlight, including filling out recipients, subjects, and body content, all without switching between applications.
Spotlight’s visual design has been fully rebuilt, making it easier for users to browse applications, files, and clipboard history. All search results are smartly sorted and presented according to user relevance. Apple also introduced shortcut functionality, allowing users to quickly access specific applications or execute actions by typing a few characters, such as entering "SM" to send messages or "AR" to add reminders.
Thanks to deep integration with Apple Intelligence, Spotlight now has contextual awareness, providing personalized recommendations based on the user's current activities and usage habits. Developers can make their applications more discoverable in Spotlight through the App Intents API.
Apple's dual-pronged effort—providing powerful AI development tools for developers while upgrading Mac's core search function to an intelligent operation platform—demonstrates its strategic vision to reconstruct user interaction experiences in the age of AI. This lays a solid foundation for the overall intelligent transformation of the Apple ecosystem.
