This week brought big news in AI coding assistants that help programmers write better code faster.

Anthropic announced their new Claude Sonnet 4.5 model, which they claim is the "best coding model in the world". This AI helper scored 77.2% on tough coding tests, beating other popular AI tools like GPT-5 Codex and Google's Gemini. The new Claude can write code, fix bugs, and even think through problems step by step while showing users how it works.

Meanwhile, OpenAI updated their Codex coding agent with a new GPT-5-Codex version. This AI was trained on real programming tasks like building apps from scratch, adding new features, finding and fixing bugs, and reviewing code. OpenAI says Codex is becoming more like a "teammate that understands your work and helps reliably."

Apple's Xcode development tool now works with Claude AI. Programmers making iPhone and Mac apps can connect their Claude account to get help writing documentation, explaining code, and making quick changes right in their editor.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched a new tool called Nova Act that helps developers build browser automation agents. These AI helpers can control web browsers using simple English instructions, making it easier to test websites and automate boring tasks.

Experts are talking about "agentic loops" - a new way to use AI coding helpers. Instead of just asking for code once, these loops let AI try different solutions, test them, and keep improving until they work perfectly. This is especially helpful for debugging problems, making code run faster, and updating old software libraries.

The trend shows AI agents are becoming real programming partners rather than simple tools.