Getting started

1. Check requirements

   
Device iPhone / iPad that supports Apple Intelligence, running iOS/iPadOS 26+ with Apple Intelligence enabled (Settings → Apple Intelligence & Siri).
Simulator Works on macOS hosts with Apple Intelligence enabled. Some assets (e.g. tool calling, Vision tools) may be missing in the Simulator; test those on device.
Xcode 26+. Use Xcode 27 to compile the iOS 27 features.
React Native New Architecture. Expo SDK 55+ development build, or bare React Native with Expo Modules.

2. Install

npx expo install @fourlyn/apple-foundation-models
npx expo run:ios     # or: eas build --profile development --platform ios

Expo Go cannot load custom native code, so use a development build. For bare React Native see react-native.md.

3. Check availability

import { useAvailability } from '@fourlyn/apple-foundation-models/react';

function AssistantEntryPoint() {
  const { availability } = useAvailability();
  if (!availability) return null;               // checking
  if (!availability.available) {
    switch (availability.reason) {
      case 'appleIntelligenceNotEnabled': return <Text>Turn on Apple Intelligence in Settings to use this feature.</Text>;
      case 'modelNotReady':               return <Text>The model is downloading. Try again soon.</Text>;
      default:                            return null; // device not eligible / unsupported: hide the feature
    }
  }
  return <Assistant />;
}

4. First request

import { createSession } from '@fourlyn/apple-foundation-models';

const session = await createSession({ instructions: 'You are a friendly assistant. Keep answers short.' });
const response = await session.respond('Suggest a name for a cat.');
console.log(response.text);

5. Stream it

for await (const chunk of session.stream('Write a haiku about rain')) {
  setText(chunk.text); // full text so far
}

6. Clean up

session.dispose();

Sessions created with useSession / useChat are disposed automatically on unmount.

Next