GitHub Copilot is one of the earliest AI-powered coding assistants out there, which made its debut in 2021. Over the past few years, the extension has received numerous updates to enhance the overall experience, to the point that it"s actively being used internally at Microsoft for code reviews impacting 600,000 pull requests (PRs) per month. Now, Microsoft has announced some updates for GitHub Copilot in Xcode.
For those unaware, Xcode is Apple"s suite of development tools that are used to build apps for iOS, macOS, iPadOS, tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS. This suite also contains an integrated development (IDE) of the same name, and Microsoft has revealed some GitHub Copilot updates for that particular software.
For starters, Copilot Vision is now supported. This allows users to upload images directly into Copilot Chat, which helps the model gain more context about your requirements, providing a better solution. Additionally, users can now modify the tone and behavior of Copilot through custom instructions, so that its more tailored to your personal needs.
Next, Copilot Chat is now locale-aware, which means that you can configure your preferred language in the GitHub Copilot for Xcode settings and the model will respond accordingly. This makes it particularly useful for collaboration and AI assistance across global teams. Finally, the Copilot Chat window has been enhanced so that it automatically attaches to your Xcode workspace for a more integrated experience.
That said, it is important to note that in order to leverage these functionalities in Xcode, you need a GitHub Copilot license. The free version limits you to 50 chat requests and 2,000 code completions per month, along with limited access to models. The Pro license costs $10/month; it removes the cap on code completions, gives access to better models, code reviews, and a preview for coding agent. Finally, the Pro+ license carries a price tag of $39/month because it offers the latest models, 30x more premium requests than Copilot Free, and access to the recently revealed GitHub Spark experience.