Apple is close to finishing a new Tool for people who make apps for iPhones. This tool will help them write the code they need. The company plans to share this tool with other software creators soon, possibly within this year. This information comes from people who know a lot about Apple's plans.
The new tool is part of Apple's effort to make its main programming software, Xcode, even better. It aims to be as good as a similar tool from Microsoft called GitHub Copilot.
Apple is also making another tool that writes code to check if apps work well. This could make a usually slow job much faster. Right now, Apple is asking some of its engineers to try out these new tools to make sure they work well before letting other developers use them.
Apple has not talked about this news yet when asked.
These new tools are part of Apple trying to catch up in the area of AI, where companies like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft are currently leading. This news comes shortly after Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, mentioned on a call about earnings that they are excited to share new AI products later this year.
Bloomberg has also found out that Apple wants to add AI features to the next updates for iPhones and iPads, known as Crystal, and to the MacOS with a project called Glow.
The company is working on making playlists on Apple Music and slideshows smarter. There's also a plan for a smarter search feature called Spotlight that can help with finding and opening apps.
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