At WWDC25 we launched a new type of Lab event for the developer community - Group Labs. A Group Lab is a panel Q&A designed for a large audience of developers. Group Labs are a unique opportunity for the community to submit questions directly to a panel of Apple engineers and designers. Here are the highlights from the WWDC25 Group Lab for Machine Learning and AI Frameworks. What are you most excited about in the Foundation Models framework? The Foundation Models framework provides access to an on-device Large Language Model (LLM), enabling entirely on-device processing for intelligent features. This allows you to build features such as personalized search suggestions and dynamic NPC generation in games. The combination of guided generation and streaming capabilities is particularly exciting for creating delightful animations and features with reliable output. The seamless integration with SwiftUI and the new design material Liquid Glass is also a major advantage. When should I still bring my own LLM via CoreML? It's generally recommended to first explore Apple's built-in system models and APIs, including the Foundation Models framework, as they are highly optimized for Apple devices and cover a wide range of use cases. However, Core ML is still valuable if you need more control or choice over the specific model being deployed, such as customizing existing system models or augmenting prompts. Core ML provides the tools to get these models on-device, but you are responsible for model distribution and updates. Should I migrate PyTorch code to MLX? MLX is an open-source, general-purpose machine learning framework designed for Apple Silicon from the ground up. It offers a familiar API, similar to PyTorch, and supports C, C++, Python, and Swift. MLX emphasizes unified memory, a key feature of Apple Silicon hardware, which can improve performance. It's recommended to try MLX and see if its programming model and features better suit your application's needs. MLX shines when working with state-of-the-art, larger models. Can I test Foundation Models in Xcode simulator or device? Yes, you can use the Xcode simulator to test Foundation Models use cases. However, your Mac must be running macOS Tahoe. You can test on a physical iPhone running iOS 18 by connecting it to your Mac and running Playgrounds or live previews directly on the device. Which on-device models will be supported? any open source models? The Foundation Models framework currently supports Apple's first-party models only. This allows for platform-wide optimizations, improving battery life and reducing latency. While Core ML can be used to integrate open-source models, it's generally recommended to first explore the built-in system models and APIs provided by Apple, including those in the Vision, Natural Language, and Speech frameworks, as they are highly optimized for Apple devices. For frontier models, MLX can run very large models. How often will the Foundational Model be updated? How do we test for stability when the model is updated? The Foundation Model will be updated in sync with operating system updates. You can test your app against new model versions during the beta period by downloading the beta OS and running your app. It is highly recommended to create an "eval set" of golden prompts and responses to evaluate the performance of your features as the model changes or as you tweak your prompts. Report any unsatisfactory or satisfactory cases using Feedback Assistant. Which on-device model/API can I use to extract text data from images such as: nutrition labels, ingredient lists, cashier receipts, etc? Thank you. The Vision framework offers the RecognizeDocumentRequest which is specifically designed for these use cases. It not only recognizes text in images but also provides the structure of the document, such as rows in a receipt or the layout of a nutrition label. It can also identify data like phone numbers, addresses, and prices. What is the context window for the model? What are max tokens in and max tokens out? The context window for the Foundation Model is 4,096 tokens. The split between input and output tokens is flexible. For example, if you input 4,000 tokens, you'll have 96 tokens remaining for the output. The API takes in text, converting it to tokens under the hood. When estimating token count, a good rule of thumb is 3-4 characters per token for languages like English, and 1 character per token for languages like Japanese or Chinese. Handle potential errors gracefully by asking for shorter prompts or starting a new session if the token limit is exceeded. Is there a rate limit for Foundation Models API that is limited by power or temperature condition on the iPhone? Yes, there are rate limits, particularly when your app is in the background. A budget is allocated for background app usage, but exceeding it will result in rate-limiting errors. In the foreground, there is no rate limit unless the device is under heavy load (e.g., camera open, game mode). The system dynamically balances performance, battery life, and thermal conditions, which can affect the token throughput. Use appropriate quality of service settings for your tasks (e.g., background priority for background work) to help the system manage resources effectively. Do the foundation models support languages other than English? Yes, the on-device Foundation Model is multilingual and supports all languages supported by Apple Intelligence. To get the model to output in a specific language, prompt it with instructions indicating the user's preferred language using the locale API (e.g., "The user's preferred language is en-US"). Putting the instructions in English, but then putting the user prompt in the desired output language is a recommended practice. Are larger server-based models available through Foundation Models? No, the Foundation Models API currently only provides access to the on-device Large Language Model at the core of Apple Intelligence. It does not support server-side models. On-device models are preferred for privacy and for performance reasons. Is it possible to run Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) using the Foundation Models framework? Yes, it is possible to run RAG on-device, but the Foundation Models framework does not include a built-in embedding model. You'll need to use a separate database to store vectors and implement nearest neighbor or cosine distance searches. The Natural Language framework offers simple word and sentence embeddings that can be used. Consider using a combination of Foundation Models and Core ML, using Core ML for your embedding model.

Does CoreML object detection only support AABB (Axis-Aligned Bounding Boxes) or also OBB (Oriented Bounded Boxes)? If not, any way to do it using Apple frameworks?

I am using gemini2.5-flash with SwiftUI. How can I receive a response in JSON?

In WWDC25 Metal 4 released quite excited new features for machine learning optimization, but as we all know the pytorch based on metal shader performance (mps) is the one of most important tools for Mac machine learning area.but on mps introduced website we cannot see any support information for metal4.

WWDC25: Combine Metal 4 machine learning and graphics Demonstrated a way to combine neural network in the graphics pipeline directly through the shaders, using an example of Texture Compression. However there is no mention of using which ML technique texture is compressed. Can anyone point me to some well known model/s for this particular use case shown in WWDC25.

In this WWDC25 session, it is explictely mentioned that apps should support AttributedString for text parameters to their App Intents. However, I have not gotten this to work. Whenever I pass rich text (either generated by the new "Use Model" intent or generated manually for example using "Make Rich Text from Markdown"), my Intent gets an AttributedString with the correct characters, but with all attributes stripped (so in effect just plain text). struct TestIntent: AppIntent { static var title = LocalizedStringResource(stringLiteral: "Test Intent") static var description = IntentDescription("Tests Attributed Strings in Intent Parameters.") @Parameter var text: AttributedString func perform() async throws -> some IntentResult & ReturnsValue<AttributedString> { return .result(value: text) } } Is there anything else I am missing?

I have a question. In China, long pressing a picture in the album can segment the target. Is this model a local model? Is there any information? Can developers use it?

Hey Devs, I'm trying to create my own Real Time Text detection like this Apple project. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/vision/extracting-phone-numbers-from-text-in-images I want to use the new iOS18 RecognizeTextRequest instead of the old VNRecognizeTextRequest in my SwiftUI project. This is my delegate code with the camera setup. I removed region of interest for debugging but I'm trying to scan English words in books. The idea is to get one word in the ROI in the future. But I can't even get proper words so testing without ROI incase my math is wrong. @Observable class CameraManager: NSObject, AVCapturePhotoCaptureDelegate ... override init() { super.init() setUpVisionRequest() } private func setUpVisionRequest() { textRequest = RecognizeTextRequest(.revision3) } ... func setup() -> Bool { captureSession.beginConfiguration() guard let captureDevice = AVCaptureDevice.default( .builtInWideAngleCamera, for: .video, position: .back) else { return false } self.captureDevice = captureDevice guard let deviceInput = try? AVCaptureDeviceInput(device: captureDevice) else { return false } /// Check whether the session can add input. guard captureSession.canAddInput(deviceInput) else { print("Unable to add device input to the capture session.") return false } /// Add the input and output to session captureSession.addInput(deviceInput) /// Configure the video data output videoDataOutput.setSampleBufferDelegate( self, queue: videoDataOutputQueue) if captureSession.canAddOutput(videoDataOutput) { captureSession.addOutput(videoDataOutput) videoDataOutput.connection(with: .video)? .preferredVideoStabilizationMode = .off } else { return false } // Set zoom and autofocus to help focus on very small text do { try captureDevice.lockForConfiguration() captureDevice.videoZoomFactor = 2 captureDevice.autoFocusRangeRestriction = .near captureDevice.unlockForConfiguration() } catch { print("Could not set zoom level due to error: \(error)") return false } captureSession.commitConfiguration() // potential issue with background vs dispatchqueue ?? Task(priority: .background) { captureSession.startRunning() } return true } } // Issue here ??? extension CameraManager: AVCaptureVideoDataOutputSampleBufferDelegate { func captureOutput( _ output: AVCaptureOutput, didOutput sampleBuffer: CMSampleBuffer, from connection: AVCaptureConnection ) { guard let pixelBuffer = CMSampleBufferGetImageBuffer(sampleBuffer) else { return } Task { textRequest.recognitionLevel = .fast textRequest.recognitionLanguages = [Locale.Language(identifier: "en-US")] do { let observations = try await textRequest.perform(on: pixelBuffer) for observation in observations { let recognizedText = observation.topCandidates(1).first print("recognized text \(recognizedText)") } } catch { print("Recognition error: \(error.localizedDescription)") } } } } The results I get look like this ( full page of English from a any book) recognized text Optional(RecognizedText(string: e bnUI W4, confidence: 0.5)) recognized text Optional(RecognizedText(string: ?'U, confidence: 0.3)) recognized text Optional(RecognizedText(string: traQt4, confidence: 0.3)) recognized text Optional(RecognizedText(string: li, confidence: 0.3)) recognized text Optional(RecognizedText(string: 15,1,#, confidence: 0.3)) recognized text Optional(RecognizedText(string: jllÈ, confidence: 0.3)) recognized text Optional(RecognizedText(string: vtrll, confidence: 0.3)) recognized text Optional(RecognizedText(string: 5,1,: 11, confidence: 0.5)) recognized text Optional(RecognizedText(string: 1141, confidence: 0.3)) recognized text Optional(RecognizedText(string: jllll ljiiilij41, confidence: 0.3)) recognized text Optional(RecognizedText(string: 2f4, confidence: 0.3)) recognized text Optional(RecognizedText(string: ktril, confidence: 0.3)) recognized text Optional(RecognizedText(string: ¥LLI, confidence: 0.3)) recognized text Optional(RecognizedText(string: 11[Itl,, confidence: 0.3)) recognized text Optional(RecognizedText(string: 'rtlÈ131, confidence: 0.3)) Even with ROI set to a specific rectangle Normalized to Vision, I get the same results with single characters returning gibberish. Any help would be amazing thank you. Am I using the buffer right ? Am I using the new perform(on: CVPixelBuffer) right ? Maybe I didn't set up my camera properly? I can provide code

Environment MacOC 26 Xcode Version 26.0 beta 7 (17A5305k) simulator: iPhone 16 pro iOS: iOS 26 Problem NLContextualEmbedding.load() fails with the following error In simulator Failed to load embedding from MIL representation: filesystem error: in create_directories: Permission denied ["/var/db/com.apple.naturallanguaged/com.apple.e5rt.e5bundlecache"] filesystem error: in create_directories: Permission denied ["/var/db/com.apple.naturallanguaged/com.apple.e5rt.e5bundlecache"] Failed to load embedding model 'mul_Latn' - '5C45D94E-BAB4-4927-94B6-8B5745C46289' assetRequestFailed(Optional(Error Domain=NLNaturalLanguageErrorDomain Code=7 "Embedding model requires compilation" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Embedding model requires compilation})) in #Playground I'm new to this embedding model. Not sure if it's caused by my code or environment. Code snippet import Foundation import NaturalLanguage import Playgrounds #Playground { // Prefer initializing by script for broader coverage; returns NLContextualEmbedding? guard let embeddingModel = NLContextualEmbedding(script: .latin) else { print("Failed to create NLContextualEmbedding") return } print(embeddingModel.hasAvailableAssets) do { try embeddingModel.load() print("Model loaded") } catch { print("Failed to load model: \(error)") } }

Hello, I'm using videotoolbox superresolution API in MACOS 26: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/videotoolbox/vtsuperresolutionscalerconfiguration/downloadconfigurationmodel(completionhandler:)?language=objc, when using swift, it's ok, when using objective-c, I get error when downloading model with downloadConfigurationModelWithCompletionHandler: [Auto] MA-auto{_failedLockContent} | failure reported by server | error:[com.apple.MobileAssetError.AutoAsset:MissingReference(6111)] [Auto] MA-auto{_failedLockContent} | failure reported by server | error:[com.apple.MobileAssetError.AutoAsset:UnderlyingError(6107)_1_com.apple.MobileAssetError.Download:47] Download completion handler called with error: The operation couldnxe2x80x99t be completed. (VTFrameProcessorErrorDomain error -19743.)