Tag: ML

Hugging Face releases Swift Transformers – package to implement transformers APIs in Swift.

Overall, couple of products were released and updated:

• swift-transformers, an in-development Swift package to implement a transformers-like API in Swift focused on text generation. It is an evolution of swift-coreml-transformers with broader goals: Hub integration, arbitrary tokenizer support, and pluggable models.
• swift-chat, a simple app demonstrating how to use the package.
• An updated version of exporters, a Core ML conversion package for transformers models.
• An updated version of transformers-to-coreml, a no-code Core ML conversion tool built on exporters.
• Some converted models, such as Llama 2 7B or Falcon 7B, ready for use with these text generation tools.

Package currently supports following models:

• Llama 2;
• Falcon;
• StarCoder models, based on a variant of the GPT architecture;
• GPT family, including GPT2, distilgpt, GPT-NeoX, GPT-J.

As of now package is in active development. It is not expected to be used in production projects without appropriate testing.

GitHub:

• swift-transformers (Apache License 2.0)
• swift-chat
• exporters

Hugging Face: Releasing Swift Transformers: Run On-Device LLMs in Apple Devices

July is almost over, we've got second beta for visionOS and here comes the weekend. Let's spend it reading some interesting topics for developers.

• Marco Eidinger explains URL parsing in URL extraction for hostname, domain, subdomain and tld in Swift;
  
  
• SwiftData Saving Changes by Keith Harrison goes through some tips on new Swift framework;
  
  
• Wojciech Kulik guides through dependency management using Swift Package Manager – SPM – Sharing Dependencies;
  
  
• Majid Jabrayilov continues his series on Swift Charts – Mastering charts in SwiftUI. Scrolling.;
  
  
• The Machine Learning Landscape on iOS by Jordan Morgan lists modern machine learning technologies available for iOS developers;
  
  
• Fixing one of the typical build errors is covered in How to fix "dyld: Library not loaded @rpath" error by Sarun W.;
  
  
• David Smith helps developers to get ready for Vision Pro Developer Labs – Tips for Vision Pro Labs;
  
  
• DocC Tutorial for Swift: Automating Publishing With GitHub Actions by Natan Rolnik explains documentation practices for Swift projects;
  
  
• Leonardo Maia Pugliese covers SwiftUI transitions in Animating Carrousel Transitions in SwiftUI.

And that is a wrap, come back in August for more.

With more details on Apple Vision Pro being available during WWDC23, developers found out that in current release of visionOS access to outward facing cameras will not be provided to third-party applications.

The only access apps could get is simulated camera with user's Digital Persona (and only if user approves access). This camera will act like front facing camera on iPhone allowing recoding of user's face reconstructed using ML model.

In order to build immersive AR experiences developers have to rely on ARKit entities and scene understanding capabilities.

Reference: Vision Pro keeping camera access under lock and key compared to iPhone and iPad

First day of WWDC23 was packed with announcements. Here is a list of announcements captured by media.

Optic ID

Apple Vision Pro will have its own biometric authentication based on iris. iOS and iPadOS apps running on headset which use Face ID or Touch ID for authentication will automatically switch to Optic ID for seamless experience.

Siri

Siri now drops "Hey" part of activation phrase. Moreover, you can now do follow-up requests to speed up interaction.

Vision Pro

Apple to provide developers with Development Kit later this year.

Headset will have support for prescription lenses, not all prescriptions will be supported though.

Safari

Safari gains extensive support for web apps in macOS 14 Sonoma. Safari also brings support for spatial computing with <model> tag providing easy way of displaying 3D content alongside with web page.

Health

Follow up notifications to take medications are added. Mental health and vision control features are also built in. Device will now notify users if they're holding device too close to their face.

Various enhancements

• Autocorrect and predictive text were significantly improved in iOS/iPadOS 17.
• iPadOS 17 adds support to external webcams, not just those which are embedded into display.
• AirTags now could be shared between multiple users.
• Used SMS verification codes could be automatically removed.
• App Store Review Guidelines now target fake and "bad" apps.
• Optimized charging comes to more Apple Watch models.
• Developers without paid membership now could install developer betas.
• Stickers in Messages now could be created from photos.
• Video conferencing features with presenter overlay would be available to different applications.
• iOS Photos will recognize pets.

Apple Newsroom: Apple previews new features coming to Apple services this fall

References:

• Apple announces new Optic ID biometrics for user authentication on Apple Vision Pro headset
• Apple says it has fixed iPhone autocorrect with iOS 17
• Siri no longer requires ‘Hey’ command to activate, now has back-to-back requests
• iOS 17 Lets You Share AirTags With Others
• iOS 17 Can Automatically Clean Up Verification Codes That Clog Up Messages App
• Apple to Provide Developers With Vision Pro Development Kits
• Apple Vision Pro Headset Supports Prescription Inserts for Glasses Wearers
• News from WWDC23: WebKit Features in Safari 17 beta
• iOS 17 Introduces Follow-Up Reminders to Take Your Medications
• App Store Review Guideline updates go after fake apps, bad ads
• iOS 17 Tidbits: Enhanced Siri Suggestions, Multiple Timers, Recipe Visual Look Up, and More
• watchOS 10 Extends Optimized Charge Limit to More Apple Watch Models
• Apple Makes Developer Betas Free to Download and Install
• iPadOS 17 Adds Support for Studio Display Webcam and Other External USB Cameras
• You Can Turn Your Photos Into Animated Stickers With iOS 17
• WWDC 2023: New FaceTime Features Coming This Fall
• iOS 17 Photos App Recognizes Your Pets

Okay, I get it, it's weekend before the show. But why would you drop your routine? Let's go through some great technical and one fun article.

• Let's follow the hype with some ChatGPT related topics from Michal Tynior – Pitfalls of the ChatGPT and Fine-tuning OpenAI models;
  
  
• Natascha Fadeeva provides review of CI/CD concept – Continuous integration and delivery for iOS;
  
  
• Network Path Monitoring by Keith Harrison provides modern way to monitor network availability;
  
  
• Marco Eidinger shares interesting hints on debugger usage – Skip code during debugging in Xcode;
  
  
• Mastering Swift Foundation Formatter API. Basics by Majid Jabrayilov refreshes knowledge on data formatting in Swift;
  
  
• Point-Free Pointers provide guidance on navigation in Composable Architecture – Navigation tools come to the Composable Architecture;
  
  
• Antoine van der Lee explores code sharing between server and client code in Swift – Share Swift Code between Swift On Server Vapor and Client App;
  
  
• SwiftUI: Trailing label TextField by Magnus Jensen is great example of making nice task-focused UI control;
  
  
• Natalia Panferova gives hints using compositing groups in SwiftUI – Using compositing group for unifying shapes within buttons in SwiftUI;
  
  
• Tiago Gomes Pereira gives great overview of accessibility in SwiftUI – Preparing your App for Voice Over: Labels, Values and Hints;
  
  
• Amazing post on sophisticated debugging techniques by Bruno Rocha – Performance Trace Profiles in iOS: Debugging performance issues you can't reproduce.

And, as promised, fun one – refresh your Apple history knowledge with WWDC 2023: The Pregame Quiz by Jordan Morgan.

Get ready for WWDC23 – next week will be definitely packed with new stuff we'll be learning the whole summer!

It is May already. In just a month WWDC23 will give us tons of things to watch, to read and to try. And today we'll go through something interesting too.

• Learn how to detect language of the text with How to detect the language of a text with the Natural Language framework in Swift by Natascha Fadeeva;
  
  
• Antoine van der Lee explains how @MainActor works – MainActor usage in Swift explained to dispatch to the main thread;
  
  
• Developing Mixed-Source Swift Packages by Daniel Langh covers use of different languages in Swift Package Manager;
  
  
• Majid Jabrayilov explains multiple uses of overlay in SwiftUI – The power of overlays in SwiftUI;
  
  
• Tips and Tricks for Using ContainerRelativeShape in SwiftUI by Leonardo Maia Pugliese is a great guide on little less known shape in SwiftUI;
  
  
• Jordan Morgan explains how debug apps that use tabular data – Using TabularData to Dump Model Data;
  
  
• Sarun W. covers some aspects of Xcode Previews – Xcode Previews: What is it, and how to use it and Detecting if SwiftUI app is in Xcode Previews.

And that is it for today. Have a great weekend, have some time for self-education. And we'll be counting days til WWDC :) See you next week!

Setapp conducted Mac Developer Survey recently and now shares the results.

Notable findings are reported by 9To5Mac:

• 60% of the surveyed Mac developers are interested in distributing their iOS apps through third-party app stores, given the opportunity. Key motivations — growing the number of users and adding a revenue stream.
• Almost 1⁄3 of the surveyed Mac developers distribute their apps solely outside the Mac App Store.
• 39% of respondents have already implemented ChatGPT in their development flow, while another 41% are working on that.
• 44% of respondents have already implemented AI/ML models in their apps, and 28% are working on it.
• 87% of developers put effort into making their apps accessible, with visual impairments getting the most focus.
• 75% of the surveyed Mac developers have felt the impact of the economic downturn on their businesses.

Setapp: Mac Developer Survey 2023

Reference: Setapp Dev Survey results: Third-party iOS app store interest measured, ChatGPT adoption, more

It's middle of March, summer is closer and closer. We've got eleventh pack of great articles for this year.

• Developer guide on machine learning for iOS with Core ML by Natascha Fadeeva gives great start on how to add machine learning capabilities to your app;
  
  
• Interesting trick by Magnus Jensen – Blendmode trick: SwiftUI reverse mask;
  
  
• Keith Harrison continues his series of articles on various SwiftUI elements – Context Menus for Tables;
  
  
• Keep your CoreData store small by vacuuming by Marco Eidinger shows usually unseen side of keeping data in local database;
  
  
• Lee Kah Seng talks about making widgets interactive – How to Handle Tap Gestures on Widgets?;
  
  
• Majid Jabrayilov shows how to use XCTest framework to do performance testing – Performance testing in Swift using the XCTest framework;
  
  
• SwiftUI Toolbar: Everything You Need to Know by Leonardo Maia Pugliese is a great guide on toolbars from SwiftUI perspective;
  
  
• Peter Meinertzhagen discusses importance of localization in the apps – Why localization has been so important for kids app, Pok Pok;
  
  
• Donny Wals goes through structured concurrency in Swift – The basics of structured concurrency in Swift explained.

And that is it for today. Have a great spring weekend!

Apple requires BlueMail app developers to set its rating to 17+ due to use of generative AI models which potentially could provide responses not suitable for children.

This rule could be then extended to all apps working with generative models, especially GPT models which are getting traction recently.

References:

• Apple Seemingly Restricting Generative AI Apps to 17+ or Older App Store Rating
• Apple blocked ChatGPT-powered email app BlueMail; requires 17+ age restriction
• Apple Blocks Update of ChatGPT-Powered App, as Concerns Grow Over AI’s Potential Harm

Apple to host in-person developer event for employees dedicated to machine learning and artificial intelligence.

While this event is targeted to Apple employees only, it might result in more announcements on AI future in Apple platforms, ChatGPT competition and possible future directions for Siri.

This event also gives some hints that in-person WWDC might be hosted in 2023.

References:

• Apple to hold in-person ‘AI summit’ event for employees at Steve Jobs Theater
• Apple to Hold In-Person Annual 'AI Summit' for Employees at Steve Jobs Theater