Building software should feel effortless, but for iOS and Mac developers, the process of integrating AI into their workflow often introduces more friction than efficiency. Alex, an AI-powered toolkit designed to work seamlessly within Xcode, aims to change that. By combining intelligent code generation, real-time web search, and automated code application, Alex helps developers build high-quality apps faster than ever before.
15x
Latency improvement
90%
In context length after summarization
Key features: Code Apply and Web Search
When Alex first launched, the potential of AI-driven coding was clear, but there was a significant challenge: latency. AI-generated code snippets were useful, but manually inserting the changes was tedious. Even with automation, this process could take as much as fifteen seconds per change. In a fast-paced development environment, waiting that long was unacceptable.
Another key feature is web search. Users can chat with the latest iOS blogs and articles on the web to get up-to-date code suggestions. This saves hours of manual coding and searching through documentation. However, the sheer amount of documentation to process also impacts the speed that results can be returned.
Unlocking Speed
Enter Cerebras Inference. Since integrating Cerebras Inference, the most immediate improvement was the transformation of Code Apply, which saw execution time reduced from fifteen seconds to less than a second. Rather than rewriting entire files, Cerebras allowed Alex to analyze project structures and precisely apply AI-generated snippets in the correct locations. Developers could now modify UI components, adjust logic, and implement AI suggestions in real time, making coding feel effortless.
"So now, what I can do is use Cerebras to apply this snippet to my file. And make sure you don't blink or you will miss it."
Daniel Edrisian
Founder of Alex
Web search also became significantly more powerful. Instead of relying on raw search results that consumed too much context space, Alex now uses Cerebras Inference to summarize articles before integrating them into conversations. This optimization reduced the size of retrieved content by 90%, cutting costs and dramatically improving speed. With this enhancement, developers could access up-to-date coding insights from Apple documentation and online forums without experiencing slowdowns.
A real-time coding assistant that feels like a true pair programmer
The increased speed of AI-generated responses significantly improved Alex’s overall responsiveness. Alex now feels like a true pair programmer offering real-time support, rather than a delayed support tool. Debugging questions are answered instantly, allowing developers to maintain their workflow while troubleshooting and applying fixes. The combination of speed and intelligence creates a real-time coding assistant that enhances, rather than interrupts, the development process.
With Cerebras Inference, Alex is now delivering on the promise of AI-powered iOS development. Cerebras has truly elevated the experience at Alex, enabling the team to provide a magical experience for iOS developers. Alex is excited to keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible—and to help developers build even better apps.