FoundationChat: Building an AI Chat App with iOS 26’s On-Device Models

Using Apple Foundation Models framework

FoundationChat icon

After implementing AI features in Ice Cubes using the Foundation Models framework, I wanted to explore what was possible with Apple's new framework.

Bringing On-Device AI to your app: Using Apple’s Foundation Models

So I built FoundationChat, a SwiftUI chat app that showcases some of the things you can do with iOS 26’s Foundation Models. And yes, of course it’s open source.

GitHub - Dimillian/FoundationChat: A chat app with iOS 26 Foundation Models

Why Another Chat App?

Let’s be honest, we have enough ChatGPT wrappers. But FoundationChat is different:

1. It runs entirely on-device: Your conversations never leave your phone
2. It’s a learning resource: Clean, documented code showing real-world patterns