Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 17 hours ago

---

In this episode of React Native AI Unpacked, we take a closer look at @react-native-ai/apple and how it brings Apple Foundation Models to React Native.

You will learn the difference between built-in and third-party on-device models, why Apple’s built-in models use significantly less memory, and how they can be reused across apps on iOS.

The video covers installation requirements, simulator setup, and a live demo showing streaming text and structured outputs powered by the Vercel AI SDK, all running fully on-device without an internet connection.

This episode focuses on practical usage and developer experience when working with Apple Intelligence from React Native.

Links:

- react-native-ai repository: github.com/callstackincubator/ai
- Documentation for @react-native-ai/apple
- Vercel AI SDK: https://ai-sdk.dev/

Star the repo, check the docs if you run into issues, and subscribe for the next episodes.

## Chapters

00:00 Introduction and episode overview
00:08 What is @react-native-ai/apple
00:23 Built-in vs third-party on-device models
00:37 Memory usage and performance trade-offs
01:05 Installation and setup requirements
01:23 macOS and iOS simulator requirements
01:42 Documentation and troubleshooting
01:54 Demo overview
02:15 Minimal setup with Vercel AI SDK
02:35 Running the demo without internet
02:56 Streaming text on-device
03:12 Structured outputs with Zod
03:49 Rendering results in the UI
04:17 Use cases and experimentation on iOS 26
04:41 Docs, repo, and support