# Microsoft Developers Conference 2025: Major AI Breakthroughs and Their Impact on Apple
Yesterday, Microsoft held its yearly developers conference, revealing a multitude of fresh AI functionalities, models, and features designed to improve its ecosystem. While many of these advancements are specifically crafted for Microsoft products, numerous ones hold the potential to enhance Apple’s in-house AI offerings, which have yet to fully develop. Here’s an in-depth look at some of the key announcements from the event.
## 1. On-device AI Model Access via Edge
One of the most thrilling updates is the introduction of new APIs that permit developers to access the 3.8-billion-parameter Phi-4 mini model directly in the Edge browser. This capability allows developers to effortlessly incorporate AI functionalities into their websites or extensions. According to Microsoft, the AI APIs consist of:
– **Prompt API**: Eases the process of initiating the AI model.
– **Writing Assistance APIs**: Supports text generation, summarization, and editing.
These features are currently accessible in the Edge Canary and Dev channels, with plans to soon include a Translator API for text translations. Furthermore, Microsoft introduced a PDF translation feature, enabling users to transform entire documents into their chosen language with ease. This initiative not only improves user experience but also enables developers to produce more interactive and multilingual applications.
## 2. An AI-Powered Coding Assistant
Last year, Apple introduced Swift Assist, an AI tool meant to optimize coding in Xcode. Yet, one year later, Swift Assist has not been realized, whereas Microsoft has made significant progress with its GitHub Copilot. The newly unveiled coding assistant for GitHub Copilot functions like a human partner, assigned to specific tasks on GitHub. It replicates repositories onto a virtual machine, records its reasoning while editing code, and highlights changes for human assessment.
Although this coding assistant cannot yet autonomously develop intricate applications, it considerably reduces the entry barrier for app development. This aligns with Apple’s objective of making development more accessible, potentially saving experienced developers hours or even days of effort.
## 3. Support for Model Context Protocol (MCP)
Another significant announcement from Microsoft is its adoption of Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP). This protocol is becoming popular as an industry standard for facilitating interconnectivity among AI models and various platforms. With MCP integration, AI agents will securely access fundamental Windows features, including the file system, enabling more intuitive and automated tasks within applications.
This feature allows AI models to interact directly with the operating system and installed applications, offering both exciting opportunities and potential risks. Microsoft intends to initially deploy this support to select developers, a wise choice given previous rollout challenges.
## Looking Forward: What’s Next for Apple?
As developers eagerly look forward to the next Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June 2025, many are pondering whether Apple will unveil comparable AI improvements. The innovations showcased at Microsoft’s conference illustrate a rising trend in AI integration that Apple may need to confront to stay competitive.
Developers are especially keen on what AI capabilities Apple could introduce within its operating systems. Features that streamline coding, enhance user experience, and enable seamless integration of AI functionalities could prove revolutionary for Apple’s development ecosystem.
In summary, Microsoft’s developers conference has established a high standard for AI capabilities, and as the tech landscape progresses, Apple is under pressure to respond with its own innovative offerings. The future of AI in development shines brightly, and it will be intriguing to see how both companies influence this domain in the upcoming months.
