Apple seems to be opening the door wider for alternatives to ChatGPT within its development tools. The latest beta version of Xcode 26 shows that not only Apple’s own models and OpenAI’s ChatGPT will be supported, but that Anthropic’s models will also be making their debut.
This further expands the AI functionality that was first presented at WWDC24 under the name Swift Assist and later announced in a broader form at WWDC25.
According to 9to5Mac, the code for Xcode 26 beta 7 contains explicit references to Claude Sonnet 4.0 and a version of Claude Opus 4 released on May 14. There are also indications that developers will be able to log in directly with an Anthropic account in the future, similar to how it is already possible with ChatGPT. Until now, developers could only use Claude via an API key, but Apple appears to be working on a more seamless integration. Server-side configuration files also show that Claude may not only appear in Xcode, but is also being considered as an alternative to Siri and the built-in writing tools of macOS.
Apple opens its ecosystem
Ars Technica points out that the move goes beyond developers, as this is the first concrete example of Apple adding support for an external AI provider other than OpenAI. In doing so, the company is showing that it is opening up its ecosystem more than it has done before. This is in line with the strategy that Apple has emphasized during its keynotes, but which has hardly taken shape until now.
For developers, this means that they will soon be able to choose between different models, each with their own qualities. With Claude, Anthropic focuses explicitly on business and developer-oriented applications and is known for its broad context window and refined tuning for programming tasks. With GPT-5, OpenAI is taking a more generalist approach that now also offers stronger coding functions at a lower price. Apple itself also provides its own models, which are mainly used in the basic functionality of Xcode.
Xcode 26 is expected later this year along with the new version of macOS. It is still unclear whether support for Anthropic accounts will be available immediately from the first release or will be added later in the cycle via an update.