CoreML On-Device Machine Learning

Overview

CoreML enables on-device machine learning inference across all Apple platforms. It abstracts hardware details while leveraging Apple Silicon's CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine for high-performance, private, and efficient execution.

Key principle: Start with the simplest approach, then optimize based on profiling. Don't over-engineer compression or caching until you have real performance data.

Decision Tree - CoreML vs Foundation Models

Need on-device ML?
  ├─ Text generation (LLM)?
  │   ├─ Simple prompts, structured output? → Foundation Models (ios-ai skill)
  │   └─ Custom model, fine-tuned, specific architecture? → CoreML
  ├─ Custom trained model?
  │   └─ Yes → CoreML
  ├─ Image/audio/sensor processing?
  │   └─ Yes → CoreML