Singapore Developers Show What Apple On-Device AI Can Do in Practice

Singapore app developers are providing a masterclass in practical on-device AI deployment, using Apple Foundation Models and Apple Intelligence to build features that respect user privacy while delivering genuinely useful functionality. Two standout examples Notewise and Basil show how Singapore's developer community is taking a restrained, intentional approach to AI.

Notewise, founded by NUS Computer Science graduate Fan Weiguang, is an Apple Design Awards-nominated note-taking app with nearly 1.3 million monthly users. Its AI features let users chat with their notes, ask for recaps, or have the app explain selected portions of handwritten content and diagrams. A standout feature called Guided Podcast turns notes into audio explanations. For privacy-sensitive tasks, the app uses Apple on-device models, falling back to online models only when documents exceed local processing capacity.

Basil, built by NTU-educated developer Swapnil Bapat, tackles personal finance with a different philosophy. The app automates expense logging from Apple Pay, PayNow, PayLah, GrabPay, and ShopeePay, then uses on-device AI to provide coaching warning users if they are on track to overspend or generating Weekly Recaps of spending patterns. Bapat deliberately avoids integrating OpenAI or Anthropic models to keep sensitive financial data on the device. The app remains free with no subscription.

Why it matters for Singapore: These two apps showcase a growing Singaporean competency in thoughtful, privacy-respecting AI product design. Rather than bolting on chatbots, both Notewise and Basil use AI intentionally only where it adds real value and only when it can run on the user's own device. This approach matters in Singapore's regulatory environment, where data protection is taken seriously. It also demonstrates that Singapore developer talent can build globally competitive products that earn recognition from Apple and millions of users.