Stop complaining that iPhone upgrades are just patchwork—Apple has directly embedded AI into the silicon. With the full rollout of iOS 26, the Foundation Models framework is now fully available: no internet connection required, zero inference cost, developers can call local large models as easily as using a camera. Within just two weeks, a batch of "small but beautiful" apps have taken the lead, pushing user experience to new heights with just a few megabytes of parameters.
The child king wins first. The children's enlightenment app "Lil Artist" launched an "AI Storyteller": choose any kitten as the main character, then tap on the "space" theme, and the local model will generate a rhyming bedtime story in 3 seconds, finally ending parents' fear of "what to tell at night." Accountants are not left out either. "MoneyCoach" throws weekly grocery bills into the model, automatically prompting "weekly supermarket expenses exceeded by 18%", and conveniently categorizes the items under "fresh produce" + "promotions", even helping you press the classification key.
More surprisingly, creative professions. "Dark Noise" generates ambient sounds from text: input "rainforest at night," and the model instantly mixes insect sounds, light rain, and distant thunder, and can also adjust the frog calls separately. The tennis tool "SwingVision" uses a local visual model to break down techniques for amateur players: "the swing angle is small by 7°, it is recommended to speed up the follow-through"—the video analysis is completed on the chip, so there is no need to worry about competition videos being leaked to the cloud.
Even "old" apps have been rejuvenated. The diary veteran "Day One" now reads minds: after finishing a page, the AI immediately gives three "deepen" tips, forcing you to write your emotions thoroughly; the guitar teaching app "Guitar Wiz" supports chord explanations in 15 languages, allowing Latin American users to understand "Bm7 is the pinky finger barre."
