SAN FRANCISCO: Apple is reportedly partnering with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic to build a new AI-powered coding assistant for Xcode, its flagship development environment. The tool, currently in internal testing, is designed to help developers write, review, and test code using Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet language model, according to a Bloomberg report.
Internally described as a “vibe coding” assistant, the tool aims to make coding more intuitive and streamlined—potentially giving Apple’s developer ecosystem a much-needed boost in the age of AI-driven software development. If early results are promising, Apple could roll it out to third-party developers in the coming months.
The move signals Apple’s growing push into generative AI, an area where the tech giant has lagged behind rivals like Google, Microsoft, and Samsung—all of whom have aggressively integrated AI tools across their platforms. For Anthropic, the collaboration could mark a major step forward in closing the gap with more dominant players like OpenAI and Google DeepMind.
Despite having less visibility in the broader market, Anthropic’s Claude models have earned a solid reputation among developers for their reliable performance and ability to handle complex programming tasks across multiple languages.
This isn’t Apple’s first attempt at building an AI assistant for its developers. A similar tool called Swift Assist was quietly tested in 2024 but was shelved after engineers raised concerns about its accuracy and impact on productivity. Apple appears to be betting that Claude’s improved reasoning abilities will avoid the pitfalls of that earlier effort.
The new assistant is expected to be baked directly into a reworked version of Xcode and will focus primarily on Swift, the programming language used to build apps across iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS.
While both companies have declined to comment publicly, the collaboration hints at Apple’s growing willingness to work with external AI partners. The tech giant has also reportedly struck deals with OpenAI to enhance Siri and is exploring possible integrations with Google’s Gemini AI.
As competition in the AI space heats up, Apple’s partnership with Anthropic could help it stay relevant—not just in consumer products but in the developer tools that power its entire ecosystem.