With the launch of iOS 26, developers are rapidly incorporating Apple’s local artificial intelligence (AI)-powered models via the Foundation Models framework, launched at worldwide developers conference (WWDC).
This framework would allow developers access on-device AI capabilities without inference costs, allowing features such as guided generation and tool calling.
While the Cupertino-based tech giants models are smaller as compared to those from OpenAI and Google, they focus on enhancing app usability instead of overhauling workflows.
Some apps are clicking into these capabilities:
Lil Artist:
It brought an AI story creator, allowing kids to select characters and themes for automatically generated stories.
Daylish:
It is experimenting with automatic emoji suggestions for timeline events.
MoneyCoach
It offers spending insights and auto-categorises expenses.
LookUp
It uses AI to generate word examples, quiz users on sentence usage, and show a map of word origins.
Tasks advises tags:
It identifies recurring tasks, and turns your spoken input into task lists offline.
Day One:
It provides AI-generated entry titles, and prompts to encourage deeper search.
Crouton:
It suggests recipe tags, names timers, and provides step-by-step guides.
SignEasy:
It summarises contracts by extracting the most important points and providing precise information.
These local AI-centric features improve privacy and deliver excellent performance while adding smart features for everyday apps.
Notably, more apps are likely to adopt the Cupertino based tech giant’s models as iOS 26 adoption continues.
