Apple Intelligence set to be opened up in iOS 19 to third-party developers
Third-party developers will allegedly be able to incorporate Apple Intelligence models into their apps in iOS 19, in an initiative that could significantly boost adoption of Apple's AI efforts.
Developers could soon take advantage of Apple's AI tech
Apple's existing AI-based offerings are under the banner of Apple Intelligence. While the rollout of features under the masthead has been slow, it may become even more useful in the near future.
According to a report on Tuesday from Bloomberg, Apple is working on ways to let external developers take advantage of its AI models. Third-party apps will be able to incorporate features that lean on models Apple has developed and implemented into its Apple Intelligence features.
The initial salvo will enable developers to use Apple's technology for text editing, image creation, and notifications, among others.
This won't be access to all of Apple's AI model tech at first. It will initially consist of features and functions that use on-device processing, not elements that use cloud-based AI models.
The sources add that the plan to offer AI model access to developers may be announced as part of WWDC 2025, on June 9.
A typical Apple plan
Apple's opening of AI to developers follows a fairly well-worn pattern that the company follows for its industry changes. The idea of having a closed-off Apple-only ecosystem before opening it up to third-parties has been used in the past with the App Store, as well as Apple Watch apps.
It's highly probable that providing access to its AI models will not only increase the standing of Apple Intelligence in the app ecosystem, but also provide other benefits. This can include developers creating new features for their apps using Apple's tech or entirely new classes of apps, which can't be found anywhere else.
It may also assist Apple in further developing its AI models, to meet the demands of third-party developers.
AI-Dev assistance
While Apple certainly has a way to go with its consumer-focused AI efforts, it's also done a fair amount on the developer side, too.
In May, it was reported that Apple was working with Anthropic to integrate Claude Sonnet into an upgraded version of Xcode. It was being used internally to assist Apple engineers in writing, editing, and testing code.
Apple has also been rumored for a long time to be preparing AI tools for third-party developers to use in Xcode. Swift Assist, its own AI coding assistant, suffered from internal complaints about hallucinations and slow performance, which hindered its release.
When it comes to aiding developers, Apple is playing catch-up to others in the space. GitHub Copilot works with Xcode, as does ChatGPT.
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Comments
Battery Management: iOS 19 will introduce an AI-powered battery management mode that profiles user routines and throttles background tasks.
Wi-Fi Captive Portal: iOS 19 will save captive-portal credentials to iCloud Keychain and sync them across devices.
Default Voice Assistant: EU regulations will force Apple to allow users to choose a default digital assistant other than Siri.
System-Wide Assistant Feature: Users can set a preferred AI assistant (Gemini, ChatGPT, etc.) and potentially invoke it with trigger words.
I am 100% sure that Apple tries to let Siri die alone and quietly by letting users choose their preferred AI assistant. If this feature is rolled out, you will never ever hear about Siri or Siri Chat/voice assistant.
Something is and remains rotten forever.