Best AI for Swift coding

The software development landscape has undergone a seismic shift. If you are an iOS developer today, your competition isn’t just the programmer next door, but the developer who knows how to amplify their productivity tenfold using Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Swift programming and interface design in SwiftUI benefit enormously from these tools. Why? Because Swift is a typed, safe, and sometimes verbose language in certain patterns (like MVVM architecture or Core Data configuration), and SwiftUI is declarative, meaning AI can “imagine” the visual structure of the code with surprising accuracy.

In this tutorial article, we won’t just list tools; we will dissect how to integrate Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Claude, and other cutting-edge solutions into your daily workflow to develop applications for iOS, macOS, and watchOS.

---

1. The New Paradigm: AI-Assisted Programming

Before diving into the list, let’s define the mindset shift. It is no longer about AI writing the code for you so you can tune out. It is about using AI to:

• Eliminate “boilerplate” (repetitive code).
• Generate Mocks and test data.
• Translate logic from UIKit to SwiftUI.
• Refactor complex Swift functions.
• Write exhaustive Unit Tests.

Below, we present the definitive list of the best AI tools for the Apple ecosystem.

---

2. The “Big Three”: Essential Tools

These three tools represent the current gold standard for any iOS developer.

A. Cursor: The IDE of the Future (The Evolution of VS Code)

If there is one tool that has revolutionized the way code is written this year, it is Cursor. While Xcode is still necessary for compiling, signing, and using the design Canvas, Cursor has become the place where Swift programming actually happens.

What is it? Cursor is a “fork” (a modified version) of VS Code that integrates AI natively into the editor. It is not a plugin; the AI lives within the core of the program.

Key Features for Swift:

1. Codebase Indexing (@Codebase): Unlike a web chat, Cursor reads and understands your entire project. It knows what ViewModels you have, what Core Data entities you have defined, and what your network services look like.
2. Copilot++: It predicts your next change, not just the next word. If you rename a variable in a view, Cursor automatically suggests the change in the ViewModel.
3. Inline Chat (Cmd+K): You can select a block of code and say: “Refactor this to use async/await instead of completion handlers,” and it will do so while respecting your coding style.

Quick Tutorial: Using Cursor with SwiftUI

1. Open your iOS project folder in Cursor.
2. Open a .swift file.
3. Press Cmd+K and type: “Create a SwiftUI view that displays a list of users fetched from my UserService. It must handle loading and error states.”
4. Cursor will read your existing UserService and generate the perfectly connected view.

B. Claude 3.5 Sonnet (Anthropic): The Logical Brain

While Cursor is the car, Claude 3.5 Sonnet is the engine. Currently, the development community agrees that Anthropic’s Sonnet 3.5 model outperforms GPT-4o in programming tasks, especially in languages like Swift.

What is it? It is a Large Language Model (LLM) that stands out for its logical reasoning and massive “context window” (it can read thousands of lines of code at once without forgetting the beginning).

Why it is vital for the iOS Developer:

• Fewer Hallucinations: Claude tends to invent fewer APIs that don’t exist, a common problem in other models when dealing with private Apple frameworks like HealthKit or HomeKit.
• SwiftUI Mastery: It understands the SwiftUI view hierarchy exceptionally well. If you ask for a complex layout, it will give you a clean VStack, HStack, and ZStack structure that is optimized.

How to use it: The best way is to select it as the default model inside Cursor or use its web interface for high-level architecture. Example Prompt: “I have this compilation error in my watchOS Target due to a circular dependency. Here are my Package.swift and ExtensionDelegate files. How do I fix it?”

C. GitHub Copilot: The Veteran Companion

GitHub Copilot was the pioneer and remains a fundamental tool, especially for its integration across multiple environments.

What is it? It is autocomplete on steroids. It analyzes the code you are writing and suggests the complete line or the entire block that follows.

Integration in the Apple flow: Although Xcode does not officially support plugins in the same way VS Code does, there are tools like “Copilot for Xcode” (third-party applications) that allow you to inject Copilot suggestions into the Apple editor.

Best use case: It is ideal for repetitive tasks.

• Example: You are writing an enum to handle network errors. You write case unauthorized and Copilot will immediately suggest case badRequest, case serverError, etc., saving you from typing.

---

3. Specialized and Complementary Tools

Beyond the big three, there are other AIs that solve specific problems in the iOS development lifecycle.

D. Perplexity AI: The Documentation Researcher

How many times have you struggled with Apple’s documentation or found obsolete Swift 3 tutorials?

What is it? Perplexity is a conversational search engine. Unlike ChatGPT, Perplexity browses the internet in real-time and cites its sources.

Use for Swift: It is perfect for finding the correct syntax for the latest APIs presented at WWDC.

• Prompt: “How to implement TipKit in an iOS 17 application using SwiftUI. Search only official Apple documentation and articles after June 2023.”
• Perplexity will give you the code and direct links to updated documentation, filtering out obsolete content.

E. ChatGPT (OpenAI): The Versatile Generalist

Although Claude has gained ground in pure code, ChatGPT (with the GPT-4o model) remains a powerful tool due to its multimodal versatility.

Best uses for iOS:

1. Data Generation (JSON): “Generate a JSON file with 50 fictional users, including avatar URLs, ISO8601 formatted dates, and GPS coordinates to test my map app.”
2. UI Analysis: You can upload a screenshot of a design (a mockup) and ask: “Generate the SwiftUI code to replicate this interface.” Although it won’t be perfect, it will give you the base structure in seconds.

F. MacWhisper (Local Voice AI): Documentation and Accessibility

Developed by an indie developer, this tool uses OpenAI’s Whisper model locally on your Mac.

Use for developers:

• Record meetings with clients or Product Managers and get a perfect transcript to turn into technical requirements or User Stories.
• Dictate long comments or code documentation if you prefer speaking to typing.

---

4. Practical Tutorial: Integrating AIs into a Real Project

To understand the power of these tools, let’s imagine we are going to develop a new feature for a Task App in SwiftUIcompatible with iOS and watchOS.

Step 1: Architecture with Claude

Don’t start by writing code. Go to Claude and type:

“Act as a Senior iOS Developer. I want to implement a local persistence system using SwiftData for a task app. The Task entity must have a title, date, and priority. I need the model to be compatible with iCloud Sync. Generate the ModelContainer code and the Task class.”

Claude will give you robust code, likely reminding you to import SwiftData and configure the “Capabilities” in Xcode.

Step 2: Implementation with Cursor

Copy that model and paste it into your project using Cursor. Now, create a TaskListView.swift file. Use Cmd+K in Cursor:

“Create a view that uses @Query to display tasks ordered by date. Use a List. Each cell should have a different color based on priority. Add ‘swipe to delete’ functionality.”

Cursor will write the full SwiftUI view, including the SwiftData predicate logic.

Step 3: Optimization for watchOS with Perplexity

Maybe you don’t remember how to adapt navigation for Apple Watch. Ask Perplexity:

“What is the best way to handle hierarchical navigation in watchOS 10 with SwiftUI? Give me an example using NavigationSplitView or NavigationStack.”

Step 4: Boilerplate with GitHub Copilot

You return to the code. You need to create an array of test data for the SwiftUI Preview. You start typing: static var previewData: [Task] = [ And GitHub Copilot will instantly autocomplete 5 or 10 sample tasks, saving you 5 minutes of tedious typing.

---

5. The Immediate Future: Xcode and Apple Intelligence

We cannot close this article without mentioning the elephant in the room: Apple’s native solution.

Apple is integrating Apple Intelligence directly into Xcode (via “Swift Assist”). Although tools like Cursor are leading today, Apple’s native solution will have a crucial advantage: Private context knowledge and local security.

Swift Assist is expected to handle tasks like:

• “Configure entitlements for Apple Pay.”
• “Add a Widget target to this project.”

These are tasks that require manipulating the .xcodeproj project configuration, something external AIs like Claude or Cursor are sometimes afraid to touch to avoid corrupting the file. As an iOS developer, you will need to stay tuned for these updates to combine them with external tools.

---

Conclusion

Swift programming has entered a new era. AI tools are not coming to replace you, but to eliminate the friction between your idea and the App Store.

• Use Cursor to write and refactor code at the speed of thought.
• Trust Claude 3.5 Sonnet to solve complex logic problems and SwiftUI architectures.
• Let GitHub Copilot handle the boilerplate code.
• Lean on Perplexity to navigate Apple’s changing documentation.

The developer who ignores these tools will continue manually writing boilerplate and fighting syntax errors, while you will be shipping innovative features to your users on iOS, macOS, and watchOS. The time to integrate AI into your Xcode is now.

If you have any questions about this article, please contact me and I will be happy to help you 🙂. You can contact me on my X profile or on my Instagram profile.