Apple’s development environment Xcode now also offers Google Gemini as a programming assistant directly in the IDE. With the newly released version 26.6, developers don’t have to wait until fall. Gemini had previously been introduced in the beta of Xcode 27, which came out in mid-June, after the WWDC developer conference. As is well known, Apple and Google work together. The Gemini AI models are used to enable enhanced voice assistance, Siri AI, along with Apple’s own AI work. Now this cooperation also benefits developers: Google’s AI joins the already integrated Anthropic Claude Agent and OpenAI Codex in the Xcode IDE.
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With the direct integration of agentic coding, Apple has been offering a low-threshold option since Xcode 26 to use popular AI models to develop apps. In Xcode 26.3 this has been expanded. Our practical test on prompting instead of coding in Xcode shows how Claude Code and GitHub Copilot perform in a direct comparison. Their integration will be further deepened with Xcode 27. At WWDC, Apple showed developers in demos how they can, for example, process multiple requests in parallel in the future. The optical processing was also further refined. Two years ago, Apple pursued its own approach, Swift Assist, but it never made it into beta.
Version 26.6 of Xcode is otherwise a small update that simply updates the SDKs and fixes bugs. It includes Swift 6.3 as well as SDKs for iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5 and macOS 26.5.
Xcode 27: Many new features and changes
With Xcode 27, which is now available as a test version for registered developers, major changes are coming. The software should initially be 30 percent smaller in size and faster by removing Intel-Mac compatibility. Developers who work with multiple computers will be happy about synchronizing settings via iCloud. This means that individual changes to the user interface and display settings are automatically transferred to other Macs. This is particularly useful as Apple expands personalization in Xcode 27. Different themes can be set per project to customize the appearance of the editor, and the toolbars can also be designed according to your own needs.
The new Device Hub has received mixed reactions. It is intended to replace the simulator with which apps could be tried out on the Mac. In comparison, the Device Hub is a more powerful tool that combines not only the management of the simulators but also that of physical test devices. Simulators can also be dynamically adjusted in size, which some see as an indication of a foldable iPhone in the fall. Overall, the new concept has met with broad approval in initial reactions. However, there is still a need for improvement in detail: for example, voices from developers could be heard who, for example, miss the pixel- and point-precise representation of the previous simulator. It’s quite possible that Apple will deliver this later in the beta.
In Xcode 27, Apple is also introducing the Agent Client Protocol (ACP), an open protocol that expands the AI interfaces. The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is natively supported and opens the door to partners integrating their applications directly. AI-supported code completion should run faster than before thanks to local AI models. The finished version of Xcode 27 is expected in the fall, when iOS 27 and the other major software updates are also released.
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(mki)
