Xcode 26 with GPT-5 and Claude is here – Beta for testing
Apple already supports older OpenAI models with its Xcode 26 programming environment. Now new ones are being added – plus Anthropics Claude.
Xcode 7 under macOS 26: Apple has dared to use more AI – from other providers.
(Image: Apple)
The rumors were true: Apple will also allow developers to use Anthropics Claude as a coding assistant in the future. The function is part of the seventh beta of Xcode 26, which was released to members of Apple's developer program on Friday night. In addition to Claude, GPT-5 from OpenAI is now also being made available.
Reasoning model of GPT-5 – but only "Low"
The ChatGPT-based assistant in Xcode previously only supported GPT-4.1. In future, GPT-5 will be OpenAI's standard model, but it is also possible to switch back to GPT-4.1, as GPT-5 is not uncontroversial for programming either. GPT-5 is "optimized for fast, high-quality results", writes Apple in the Xcode 26 Beta 7 package insert. "It should work well for most coding tasks." However, it is also commendably possible to switch to the GPT-5 reasoning model.
"This requires more time to think, but can provide more accurate results for more complex programming tasks." Apple states that GPT-5 without reasoning runs at the "minimal" reasoning level, GPT-5 with reasoning at the "low" reasoning level. This means that the full reasoning performance is not available via Xcode – with the ChatGPT app for macOS, however, this should work. OpenAI had already developed an Xcode integration last year.
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Paid account of Claude necessary
Claude in Xcode is based on Sonnet 4 and can be accessed via the "Intelligence Settings" panel. It is not free: users must register their paid account with Anthropic. It remains unclear whether Opus 4 is also supported – code references had previously been found. When Xcode 26 is released, it will still be possible to integrate third-party models via their API. After all, Apple also wants to support local models, which are becoming increasingly popular, as long as the Mac is sufficiently powerful.
Further speculation that Claude could soon also be integrated into Siri or system-wide, as we know it from ChatGPT, was not confirmed at first. Xcode 26 Beta 7 also runs under macOS 15 alias Sequoia. However, AI support does not appear to be active there. Users therefore also need a beta of macOS 26 alias Tahoe. There is also a hurdle here: This must not run in a VM, as the Apple Intelligence main switch cannot be activated there
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