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Apple Opens On-Device AI to Third-Party Apps With Foundation Models

The new iOS 26 framework runs entirely on device to deliver private, offline features without per‑request costs.

Overview

  • Apple showcased early adopters across fitness, education, and productivity, including SmartGym, Stoic, SwingVision, Stuff, OmniFocus, CellWalk, VLLO, Agenda, and Signeasy.
  • New capabilities include natural‑language workout creation in SmartGym, contextual journaling prompts in Stoic, coaching feedback in SwingVision, and task generation plus Listen and Scan modes in Stuff.
  • OmniFocus 4 can now draft projects and next steps from user context, while CellWalk provides conversational explanations grounded in app data using tool calling.
  • The framework exposes a 3‑billion‑parameter model with native Swift APIs, guided generation for predictable output formats, and the ability for models to request facts from apps.
  • Foundation Models is available now on Apple Intelligence‑compatible devices running iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS 26, with language support including English, French, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.