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Apple is expanding the capabilities of its flagship developer platform, Xcode, by integrating agentic coding tools from leading AI companies OpenAI and Anthropic. The move positions Apple at the forefront of one of Silicon Valley’s fastest-growing trends, where artificial intelligence assists programmers by writing code autonomously.

With the latest update, Xcode will support OpenAI’s Codex and Anthropic’s Claude Agent. These AI agents can now handle complex multi-step tasks, including building and testing projects, searching Apple’s developer documentation, and troubleshooting errors—all without constant human intervention. Apple demonstrated the new functionality in a video, highlighting how developers can delegate more intricate workflows to AI while maintaining control and oversight.

This represents an evolution from Apple’s summer update, which added support for ChatGPT and Claude, expanding the system into fully agentic coding. Individual developers and companies have increasingly adopted this approach, often referred to as “vibe coding,” where humans prompt AI tools and then review and refine the generated code for quality and accuracy.

Developers will need to connect their OpenAI or Anthropic accounts to Xcode via an API key. Apple emphasized that it uses an open standard, allowing additional compatible AI tools to work alongside these agents. This flexibility ensures that Xcode remains adaptable to evolving AI coding technologies while maintaining Apple’s ecosystem standards.

Xcode, Apple’s primary coding environment, underpins nearly every iPhone application. The latest version, Xcode 26.3, is currently available in beta for registered Apple developers and will be fully released on the App Store in the coming months. The update coincides with OpenAI’s release of a Codex agentic coding application for Mac computers, further signaling a broader industry push toward AI-assisted software development.

By embedding agentic AI directly into its core development tools, Apple aims to accelerate productivity for developers, streamline app creation, and strengthen its foothold in the growing intersection of AI and mobile application development.

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