Apple and Anthropic are building an AI-powered coding tool that will work in Xcode, Apple’s code-writing tool, Bloomberg reports. A new version of Xcode will integrate Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet model to “write, edit and test code on behalf of programmers,” Bloomberg says.
Apple is slowly rolling this new version out internally initially and apparently has not decided if it will release it to the public. Developers will be able to enter requests in a chat interface, test user interfaces, and help manage bug fixing, according to Bloomberg. Apple didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment from The Verge. Anthropic spokesperson Danielle Ghiglieri declined to comment.
Big tech CEOs have touted how AI assists with the development of their internal code, including Microsoft’s Satya Nadella saying that “maybe 20 to 30 percent of the code that is inside of our repos today in some of our projects are probably all written by software.” OpenAI is also reportedly considering a $3 billion deal to buy the AI-powered coding tool Windsurf, which could make ChatGPT better for helping with coding. Apple announced an AI-powered tool to help with coding called “Swift Assist” at WWDC 2024, but hasn’t yet released it, as noted by Bloomberg.
The new tool could help Apple get a leg up as it tries to advance its lagging AI efforts. The company recently delayed its upgraded Siri, saying in a statement that “it’s going to take us longer than we thought” to roll it out despite announcing it in June 2024. Oversight of Siri was recently moved from AI chief John Giannandrea to Mike Rockwell, the former head of Vision Pro development.
Update, May 2nd: Anthropic declined to comment.