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VNDetectFaceRectanglesRequest does not use the Neural Engine?
I'm on Tahoe 26.1 / M3 Macbook Air. I'm using VNDetectFaceRectanglesRequest as properly as possible, as in the minimal command line program attached below. For some reason, I always get: MLE5Engine is disabled through the configuration printed. I couldn't find any notes on developer docs saying that VNDetectFaceRectanglesRequest can not use the Apple Neural Engine. I'm assuming there is something wrong with my code however I wasn't able to find any remarks from documentation where it might be. I wasn't able to find the above error message online either. I would appreciate your help a lot and thank you in advance. The code below accesses the video from AVCaptureDevice.DeviceType.builtInWideAngleCamera. Currently it directly chooses the 0th format which has the largest resolution (Full HD on my M3 MBA) and "4:2:0" color "v" reduced color component spectrum encoding ("420v"). After accessing video, it performs a VNDetectFaceRectanglesRequest. It prints "VNDetectFaceRectanglesRequest completion Handler called" many times, then prints the error message above, then continues printing "VNDetectFaceRectanglesRequest completion Handler called" until the user quits it. To run it in Xcode, File > New project > Mac command line tool. Pasting the code below, then click on the root file > Targets > Signing & Capabilities > Hardened Runtime > Resource Access > Camera. A possible explanation could be that either Apple's internal CoreML code for this function works on GPU/CPU only or it doesn't accept 420v as supplied by the Macbook Air camera import AVKit import Vision var videoDataOutput: AVCaptureVideoDataOutput = AVCaptureVideoDataOutput() var detectionRequests: [VNDetectFaceRectanglesRequest]? var videoDataOutputQueue: DispatchQueue = DispatchQueue(label: "queue") class XYZ: /*NSViewController or NSObject*/NSObject, AVCaptureVideoDataOutputSampleBufferDelegate { func viewDidLoad() { //super.viewDidLoad() let session = AVCaptureSession() let inputDevice = try! self.configureFrontCamera(for: session) self.configureVideoDataOutput(for: inputDevice.device, resolution: inputDevice.resolution, captureSession: session) self.prepareVisionRequest() session.startRunning() } fileprivate func highestResolution420Format(for device: AVCaptureDevice) -> (format: AVCaptureDevice.Format, resolution: CGSize)? { let deviceFormat = device.formats[0] print(deviceFormat) let dims = CMVideoFormatDescriptionGetDimensions(deviceFormat.formatDescription) let resolution = CGSize(width: CGFloat(dims.width), height: CGFloat(dims.height)) return (deviceFormat, resolution) } fileprivate func configureFrontCamera(for captureSession: AVCaptureSession) throws -> (device: AVCaptureDevice, resolution: CGSize) { let deviceDiscoverySession = AVCaptureDevice.DiscoverySession(deviceTypes: [AVCaptureDevice.DeviceType.builtInWideAngleCamera], mediaType: .video, position: AVCaptureDevice.Position.unspecified) let device = deviceDiscoverySession.devices.first! let deviceInput = try! AVCaptureDeviceInput(device: device) captureSession.addInput(deviceInput) let highestResolution = self.highestResolution420Format(for: device)! try! device.lockForConfiguration() device.activeFormat = highestResolution.format device.unlockForConfiguration() return (device, highestResolution.resolution) } fileprivate func configureVideoDataOutput(for inputDevice: AVCaptureDevice, resolution: CGSize, captureSession: AVCaptureSession) { videoDataOutput.setSampleBufferDelegate(self, queue: videoDataOutputQueue) captureSession.addOutput(videoDataOutput) } fileprivate func prepareVisionRequest() { let faceDetectionRequest: VNDetectFaceRectanglesRequest = VNDetectFaceRectanglesRequest(completionHandler: { (request, error) in print("VNDetectFaceRectanglesRequest completion Handler called") }) // Start with detection detectionRequests = [faceDetectionRequest] } // MARK: AVCaptureVideoDataOutputSampleBufferDelegate // Handle delegate method callback on receiving a sample buffer. public func captureOutput(_ output: AVCaptureOutput, didOutput sampleBuffer: CMSampleBuffer, from connection: AVCaptureConnection) { var requestHandlerOptions: [VNImageOption: AnyObject] = [:] let cameraIntrinsicData = CMGetAttachment(sampleBuffer, key: kCMSampleBufferAttachmentKey_CameraIntrinsicMatrix, attachmentModeOut: nil) if cameraIntrinsicData != nil { requestHandlerOptions[VNImageOption.cameraIntrinsics] = cameraIntrinsicData } let pixelBuffer = CMSampleBufferGetImageBuffer(sampleBuffer)! // No tracking object detected, so perform initial detection let imageRequestHandler = VNImageRequestHandler(cvPixelBuffer: pixelBuffer, orientation: CGImagePropertyOrientation.up, options: requestHandlerOptions) try! imageRequestHandler.perform(detectionRequests!) } } let X = XYZ() X.viewDidLoad() sleep(9999999)
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438
Nov ’25
Is there an API that allows iOS app developers to leverage Apple Foundation Models to authorize a user's Apple Intelligence extension, chatGPT login account?
Is there an API that allows iOS app developers to leverage Apple Foundation Models to authorize a user's Apple Intelligence extension, chatGPT login account? I'm trying to provide a real-time question feature for chatGPT, a logged-in extension account, while leveraging Apple Intelligence's LLM. Is there an API that also affects the extension login account?
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Nov ’25
GenerationError -1 / 1026
Hi, I was using Foundation Models in my app, and suddenly it just stopped working from one moment to the next. To double-check, I created a small test in Playgrounds, but I’m getting the exact same error there too. #Playground { let session = LanguageModelSession() let prompt = "please answer a word" do { let response = try await session.respond(to: prompt) } catch { print("error is \(error)") } } error is Error Domain=FoundationModels.LanguageModelSession.GenerationError Code=-1 "(null)" UserInfo={NSMultipleUnderlyingErrorsKey=( "Error Domain=ModelManagerServices.ModelManagerError Code=1026 \"(null)\" UserInfo={NSMultipleUnderlyingErrorsKey=(\n)}" )} I’m no longer able to get any response from the framework anywhere, even in a fresh project. It's been 5 days. Has anyone else experienced this issue or knows what could be causing it? Thanks in advance! Tahoe 26.2 beta 1, Xcode 26.1.1, iPhone Air simulator 26.1
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Nov ’25
Inquiry About Building an App for Object Detection, Background Removal, and Animation
Hi all! Nice to meet you., I am planning to build an iOS application that can: Capture an image using the camera or select one from the gallery. Remove the background and keep only the detected main object. Add a border (outline) around the detected object’s shape. Apply an animation along that border (e.g., moving light or glowing effect). Include a transition animation when removing the background — for example, breaking the background into pieces as it disappears. The app Capword has a similar feature for object isolation, and I’d like to build something like that. Could you please provide any guidance, frameworks, or sample code related to: Object segmentation and background removal in Swift (Vision or Core ML). Applying custom borders and shape animations around detected objects. Recognizing the object name (e.g., “person”, “cat”, “car”) after segmentation. Thank you very much for your support. Best regards, SINN SOKLYHOR
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183
Nov ’25
RecognizeDocumentsRequest for receipts
Hi, I'm trying to use the new RecognizeDocumentsRequest from the Vision Framework to read a receipt. It looks very promising by being able to read paragraphs, lines and detect data. So far it unfortunately seems to read every line on the receipt as a paragraph and when there is more space on one line it creates two paragraphs. Is there perhaps an Apple Engineer who knows if this is expected behaviour or if I should file a Feedback for this? Code setup: let request = RecognizeDocumentsRequest() let observations = try await request.perform(on: image) guard let document = observations.first?.document else { return } for paragraph in document.paragraphs { print(paragraph.transcript) for data in paragraph.detectedData { switch data.match.details { case .phoneNumber(let data): print("Phone: \(data)") case .postalAddress(let data): print("Postal: \(data)") case .calendarEvent(let data): print("Calendar: \(data)") case .moneyAmount(let data): print("Money: \(data)") case .measurement(let data): print("Measurement: \(data)") default: continue } } } See attached image as an example of a receipt I'd like to parse. The top 3 lines are the name, street, and postal code + city. These are all separate paragraphs. Checking on detectedData does see the street (2nd line) as PostalAddress, but not the complete address. Might that be a location thing since it's a Dutch address. And lower on the receipt it sees the block with "Pomp 1 95 Ongelood" and the things below also as separate paragraphs. First picking up the left side and after that the right side. So it's something like this: * Pomp 1 Volume Prijs € TOTAAL * BTW Netto 21.00 % 95 Ongelood 41,90 l 1.949/ 1 81.66 € 14.17 67.49
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Nov ’25
Training adapter, it won't call my tool
Hi all. My adapter model just won't invoke my tool. The problem I am having is covered in an older post: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/794839?answerId=852262022#852262022 Sadly the thread dies there and no resolution is seen in that thread. It's worth noting that I have developed an AI chatbot built around LanguageModelSession to which I feed the exact same system prompt that I feed to my training set (pasted further in this post). The AI chatbot works perfectly, the tool is invoked when needed. I am training the adapter model because the base model whilst capable doesn't produce the quality I'm looking for. So here's the template of an item in my training set: [ { 'role': 'system', 'content': systemPrompt, 'tools': [TOOL_DEFINITION] }, { 'role': 'user', 'content': entry['prompt'] }, { 'role': 'assistant', 'content': entry['code'] } ] where TOOL_DEFINITION = { 'type': 'function', 'function': { 'name': 'WriteUbersichtWidgetToFileSystem', 'description': 'Writes an Übersicht Widget to the file system. Call this tool as the last step in processing a prompt that generates a widget.', 'parameters': { 'type': 'object', 'properties': { 'jsxContent': { 'type': 'string', 'description': 'Complete JSX code for an Übersicht widget. This should include all required exports: command, refreshFrequency, render, and className. The JSX should be a complete, valid Übersicht widget file.' } }, 'required': ['jsxContent'] } } ... and systemPrompt = A conversation between a user and a helpful assistant. You are an Übersicht widget designer. Create Übersicht widgets when requested by the user. IMPORTANT: You have access to a tool called WriteUbersichtWidgetToFileSystem. When asked to create a widget, you MUST call this tool. ### Tool Usage: Call WriteUbersichtWidgetToFileSystem with complete JSX code that implements the Übersicht Widget API. Generate custom JSX based on the user's specific request - do not copy the example below. ### Übersicht Widget API (REQUIRED): Every Übersicht widget MUST export these 4 items: - export const command: The bash command to execute (string) - export const refreshFrequency: Refresh rate in milliseconds (number) - export const render: React component function that receives {output} prop (function) - export const className: CSS positioning for absolute placement (string) Example format (customize for each request): WriteUbersichtWidgetToFileSystem({jsxContent: `export const command = "echo hello"; export const refreshFrequency = 1000; export const render = ({output}) => { return <div>{output}</div>; }; export const className = "top: 20px; left: 20px;"`}) ### Rules: - The terms "ubersicht widget", "widget", "a widget", "the widget" must all be interpreted as "Übersicht widget" - Generate complete, valid JSX code that follows the Übersicht widget API - When you generate a widget, don't just show JSON or code - you MUST call the WriteUbersichtWidgetToFileSystem tool - Report the results to the user after calling the tool ### Examples: - "Generate a Übersicht widget" → Use WriteUbersichtWidgetToFileSystem tool - "Can you add a widget that shows the time" → Use WriteUbersichtWidgetToFileSystem tool - "Create a widget with a button" → Use WriteUbersichtWidgetToFileSystem tool When the script that I use to compose the full training set is executed, entry['prompt'] and entry['code'] contain the prompt and the resulting JSX code for one of the examples I'm feeding to the training session. This is repeated for about 60 such examples that I have in my sample data collection. Thanks for any help. Michael
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1k
Nov ’25
Core Spotlight Semantic Search - still non-functional for 1+ year after WWDC24?
After more than a year since the announcement, I'm still unable to get this feature working properly and wondering if there are known issues or missing implementation details. Current Setup: Device: iPhone 16 Pro Max iOS: 26 beta 3 Development: Tested on both Xcode 16 and Xcode 26 Implementation: Following the official documentation examples The Problem: Semantic search simply doesn't work. Lexical search functions normally, but enabling semantic search produces identical results to having it disabled. It's as if the feature isn't actually processing. Error Output (Xcode 26): [QPNLU][qid=5] Error Domain=com.apple.SpotlightEmbedding.EmbeddingModelError Code=-8007 "Text embedding generation timeout (timeout=100ms)" [CSUserQuery][qid=5] got a nil / empty embedding data dictionary [CSUserQuery][qid=5] semanticQuery failed to generate, using "(false)" In Xcode 16, there are no error messages at all - the semantic search just silently fails. Missing Resources: The sample application mentioned during the WWDC24 presentation doesn't appear to have been released, which makes it difficult to verify if my implementation is correct. Would really appreciate any guidance or clarification on the current status of this feature. Has anyone in the community successfully implemented this?
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1.3k
Nov ’25
Model Guardrails Too Restrictive?
I'm experimenting with using the Foundation Models framework to do news summarization in an RSS app but I'm finding that a lot of articles are getting kicked back with a vague message about guardrails. This seems really common with political news but we're talking mainstream stuff, i.e. Politico, etc. If the models are this restrictive, this will be tough to use. Is this intended? FB17904424
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Nov ’25
Foundation Models unavailable for millions of users due to device language restriction - Need per-app language override
Hi everyone, I'm developing an iOS app using Foundation Models and I've hit a critical limitation that I believe affects many developers and millions of users. The Issue Foundation Models requires the device system language to be one of the supported languages. If a user has their device set to an unsupported language (Catalan, Dutch, Swedish, Polish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Czech, Hungarian, Greek, Romanian, and many others), SystemLanguageModel.isSupported returns false and the framework is completely unavailable. Why This Is Problematic Scenario: A Catalan user has their iPhone in Catalan (native language). They want to use an AI chat app in Spanish or English (languages they speak fluently). Current situation: ❌ Foundation Models: Completely unavailable ✅ OpenAI GPT-4: Works perfectly ✅ Anthropic Claude: Works perfectly ✅ Any cloud-based AI: Works perfectly The user must choose between: Keep device in Catalan → Cannot use Foundation Models at all Change entire device to Spanish → Can use Foundation Models but terrible UX Impact This affects: Millions of users in regions where unsupported languages are official Multilingual users who prefer their device in their native language but can comfortably interact with AI in English/Spanish Developers who cannot deploy Foundation Models-based apps in these markets Privacy-conscious users who are ironically forced to use cloud AI instead of on-device AI What We Need One of these solutions would solve the problem: Option 1: Per-app language override (preferred) // Proposed API let session = try await LanguageModelSession(preferredLanguage: "es-ES") Option 2: Faster rollout of additional languages (particularly EU languages) Option 3: Allow fallback to user-selected supported language when system language is unsupported Technical Details Current behavior: // Device in Catalan let isAvailable = SystemLanguageModel.isSupported // Returns false // No way to override or specify alternative language Why This Matters Apple Intelligence and Foundation Models are amazing for privacy and performance. But this language restriction makes the most privacy-focused AI solution less accessible than cloud alternatives. This seems contrary to Apple's values of accessibility and user choice. Questions for the Community Has anyone else encountered this limitation? Are there any workarounds I'm missing? Has anyone successfully filed feedback about this?(Please share FB number so we can reference it) Are there any sessions or labs where this has been discussed? Thanks for reading. I'd love to hear if others are facing this and how you're handling it.
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Nov ’25
Support for Content Exclusion Files in Apple Intelligence
I am writing to inquire about content exclusion capabilities within Apple Intelligence, particularly regarding the use of configuration files such as .aiignore or .aiexclude—similar to what exists in other AI-assisted coding tools. These mechanisms are highly valuable in managing what content AI systems can access, especially in environments that involve sensitive code or proprietary frameworks. I would appreciate it if anyone could clarify whether Apple Intelligence currently supports any exclusion configuration for AI-assisted features. If so, could you kindly provide documentation or guidance on how developers can implement these controls? If not, Is there any plan to include such feature in future updates?
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Nov ’25
CreateML Training Object Detection Not using MPS
Hi everyone Im currently developing an object detection model that shall identify up to seven classes in an image. While im usually doing development with basic python and the ultralytics library, i thought i would like to give CreateML a shot. The experience is actually very nice, except for the fact that the model seem not to be using any ANE or GPU (MPS) for accelerated training. On https://developer.apple.com/machine-learning/create-ml/ it states: "On-device training Train models blazingly fast right on your Mac while taking advantage of CPU and GPU." Am I doing something wrong? Im running the training on Apple M1 Pro 16GB MacOS 26.1 (Tahoe) Xcode 26.1 (Build version 17B55) It would be super nice to get some feedback or instructions. Thank you in advance!
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Nov ’25
How to create updatable models using Create ML app
I've built a model using Create ML, but I can't make it, for the love of God, updatable. I can't find any checkbox or anything related. It's an Activity Classifier, if it matters. I want to continue training it on-device using MLUpdateTask, but the model, as exported from Create ML, fails with error: Domain=com.apple.CoreML Code=6 "Failed to unarchive update parameters. Model should be re-compiled." UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Failed to unarchive update parameters. Model should be re-compiled.}
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347
Nov ’25
no tensorflow-metal past tf 2.18?
Hi We're on tensorflow 2.20 that has support now for python 3.13 (finally!). tensorflow-metal is still only supporting 2.18 which is over a year old. When can we expect to see support in tensorflow-metal for tf 2.20 (or later!) ? I bought a mac thinking I would be able to get great performance from the M processors but here I am using my CPU for my ML projects. If it's taking so long to release it, why not open source it so the community can keep it more up to date? cheers Matt
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Nov ’25
“Accelerate Transformer Training on Apple Devices from Months to Hours!”
I am excited to share that I have developed a Metal kernel for Flash Attention that eliminates race conditions and fully leverages Apple Silicon’s shared memory and registers. This kernel can dramatically accelerate training of transformer-based models. Early benchmarks suggest that models which previously required months to train could see reductions to just a few hours on Apple hardware, while maintaining numerical stability and accuracy. I plan to make the code publicly available to enable the broader community to benefit. I would be happy to keep you updated on the latest developments and improvements as I continue testing and optimizing the kernel. I believe this work could provide valuable insights for Apple’s machine learning research and products.
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258
Nov ’25
Hardware Support for Low Precision Data Types?
Hi all, I'm trying to find out if/when we can expect mxfp8/mxfp4 support on Apple Silicon. I've noticed that mlx now has casting data types, but all computation is still done in bf16. Would be great to reduce power consumption with support for these lower precision data types since edge inference is already typically done at a lower precision! Thanks in advance.
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Nov ’25
“Unleashing the MacBook Air M2: 673 TFLOPS Achieved with Highly Optimized Metal Shading Language”
Using highly optimized Metal Shading Language (MSL) code, I pushed the MacBook Air M2 to its performance limits with the deformable_attention_universal kernel. The results demonstrate both the efficiency of the code and the exceptional power of Apple Silicon. The total computational workload exceeded 8.455 quadrillion FLOPs, equivalent to processing 8,455 trillion operations. On average, the code sustained a throughput of 85.37 TFLOPS, showcasing the chip’s remarkable ability to handle massive workloads. Peak instantaneous performance reached approximately 673.73 TFLOPS, reflecting near-optimal utilization of the GPU cores. Despite this intensity, the cumulative GPU runtime remained under 100 seconds, highlighting the code’s efficiency and time optimization. The fastest iteration achieved a record processing time of only 0.051 ms, demonstrating minimal bottlenecks and excellent responsiveness. Memory management was equally impressive: peak GPU memory usage never exceeded 2 MB, reflecting efficient use of the M2’s Unified Memory. This minimizes data transfer overhead and ensures smooth performance across repeated workloads. Overall, these results confirm that a well-optimized Metal implementation can unlock the full potential of Apple Silicon, delivering exceptional computational density, processing speed, and memory efficiency. The MacBook Air M2, often considered an energy-efficient consumer laptop, is capable of handling highly intensive workloads at performance levels typically expected from much larger GPUs. This test validates both the robustness of the Metal code and the extraordinary capabilities of the M2 chip for high-performance computing tasks.
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450
Nov ’25
Where are Huggingface Models, downloaded by Swift MLX apps cached
I'm downloading a fine-tuned model from HuggingFace which is then cached on my Mac when the app first starts. However, I wanted to test adding a progress bar to show the download progress. To test this I need to delete the cached model. From what I've seen online this is cached at /Users/userName/.cache/huggingface/hub However, if I delete the files from here, using Terminal, the app still seems to be able to access the model. Is the model cached somewhere else? On my iPhone it seems deleting the app also deletes the cached model (app data) so that is useful.
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428
Oct ’25
Downloading my fine tuned model from huggingface
I have used mlx_lm.lora to fine tune a mistral-7b-v0.3-4bit model with my data. I fused the mistral model with my adapters and upload the fused model to my directory on huggingface. I was able to use mlx_lm.generate to use the fused model in Terminal. However, I don't know how to load the model in Swift. I've used Imports import SwiftUI import MLX import MLXLMCommon import MLXLLM let modelFactory = LLMModelFactory.shared let configuration = ModelConfiguration( id: "pharmpk/pk-mistral-7b-v0.3-4bit" ) // Load the model off the main actor, then assign on the main actor let loaded = try await modelFactory.loadContainer(configuration: configuration) { progress in print("Downloading progress: \(progress.fractionCompleted * 100)%") } await MainActor.run { self.model = loaded } I'm getting an error runModel error: downloadError("A server with the specified hostname could not be found.") Any suggestions? Thanks, David PS, I can load the model from the app bundle // directory: Bundle.main.resourceURL! but it's too big to upload for Testflight
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549
Oct ’25