The Foundation Models framework provides access to Apple’s on-device large language model that powers Apple Intelligence to help you perform intelligent tasks specific to your use case. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/FoundationModels

First, verify that the framework is supported and enabled on the user’s device (only Apple Intelligence–capable models qualify) and that you’ve accounted for any additional battery usage before you start crafting prompts or calling the API.

let systemModel = SystemLanguageModel.default

guard systemModel.isAvailable else {
    return
}

Once you've confirmed that the device can invoke the model, calling it can be as simple as three lines of code:

import FoundationModels

var model = SystemLanguageModel.default
let session = LanguageModelSession(instructions: "You are a helpful assistant.")

let response = try await session.respond(to: "Give me a fun fact about space.")
let answer = response.content  // Olympus Mons on Mars is the tallest volcano—and the tallest mountain—in the entire Solar System,

Privacy and zero cost are obvious benefits here, but being able to remove a layer of your infrastructure and even dynamically build prompts is really powerful. Beyond cost savings, it’s blazing fast compared to sending a request to an OpenAI API, for example.

The framework becomes even more powerful when you can pass Swift structs in and get Swift structs back, which significantly lowers the burden compared to solutions that only handle text input and output.

It’s incredible how quickly you can prototype intelligent features in an app. I’m looking forward to what developers come up with once iOS 26 and macOS 26 are released.

Terrillo Walls (the person behind terrillo.com) is a seasoned software engineer and tech leader based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, originally from New Orleans. Currently a Technology Software Consultant, he’s renowned for guiding teams in building maintainable, scalable software solutions with vision and precision.

Tech Career & Leadership

Through over a decade of diverse engineering experience — spanning web stacks (HTML/CSS/JS/PHP), backend services (Node, Python, Go), mobile development (Swift, Objective‑C), AWS, Linux servers, and NLP — Terrillo has carved a distinct path marked by authenticity and innovation.

In 2019, he was recognized as a BIMS Emerging Leader by the Software & Information Industry Association, in acknowledgement of his significant leadership contributions at Brief Media (vetmedux.com).

He actively contributes to the developer community through technical writings on DEV.to, maintaining repositories on GitHub, and engaging on social platforms such as Mastodon and Bluesky.

Creative Pursuits

Beyond technology, Terrillo is weaving his creativity into a captivating music novella "Project Manchester" blending narrative craft with a passion for music and storytelling.