In Xcode 26, Apple shows first signs of offering ChatGPT alternatives (arstechnica.com)

Apple’s latest Xcode 26 beta hints at broader AI integration within its popular development environment, revealing support for Anthropic’s Claude and Opus large language models alongside existing options like Apple’s own models and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. This marks a significant step toward offering developers more flexible AI coding assistants directly in Xcode, potentially improving coding workflows with advanced natural language understanding and generation capabilities from multiple providers. Previously, Apple focused on integrating its proprietary models and ChatGPT in Xcode to compete with tools like GitHub Copilot, allowing developers to interact with their codebases through conversational AI for suggestions and code reviews. The new beta reveals that beyond just API key access, users will soon be able to log into Anthropic accounts directly, enabling more cost-effective and streamlined access to these LLMs. This move highlights Apple’s intent to foster a more open and competitive AI ecosystem within its IDE, enhancing developer productivity while giving them choice in which AI assistant they prefer to use.