Thanks to new possibilities offered by AI coding tools, the App Store is once again seeing an increase in new app submissions, even as Apple continues to raise questions about some of the ways apps are built and work. Here are the details:
As app submissions soar, Apple turns to AI to expand App Store reviews
information The number of new app submissions to the App Store declined by 46% between 2016 and 2024, but last year there was a “sudden explosion in the number of new apps coming to the App Store around the world”, reporting a “30% increase compared to 2024, reaching nearly 600,000.”
The report, based on Sensor Tower data, suggests that the primary driver of the proliferation of new apps is vibe coding tools like Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex.
information “It’s difficult to determine how many apps these new app developers are creating using AI, but given the speed of their adoption, it’s likely that most rely on AI tools,” he said.
AI coding tools have made it possible for non-programmers to create runnable apps using written prompts, while also allowing people with existing programming skills to write far more code than they could by hand.
“We’ve seen an explosion of new apps over the past year,” said Abraham Yousef, senior insights analyst at Sensor Tower. “This goes hand-in-hand with the broader release of agent coding tools that take away the traditional difficulty of creating apps.”
When asked for comment, Apple said: information This wave likely reflects the relevance of the App Store.
Interestingly, Apple is also pushing back against certain iOS-based Vibecoding apps that, according to the company, violate its App Review Guidelines and Developer Program License.
In recent weeks, Apple has pulled or blocked updates to apps like Anything and Replit and asked developers to change the way their tools generate and run code.
This means that some of these apps generate interpreted code that may change their primary purpose, which Apple does not allow.
Returning to the report, information It also notes that the proliferation of new apps may be putting extra strain on Apple’s app review teams, a notion the company disputes.
App developers may also be complaining about increased review times as a result of the significant increase in apps that Apple’s review teams must review. Last month, Elon Musk posted on his social media site
An Apple spokesperson denied that review times were taking longer. Apple says its app review team processes 90% of requests within 48 hours. Over the past 12 weeks, the team has processed over 200,000 app submissions per week, with an average review time of 1.5 days. The spokesperson also said that while all submitted apps must be reviewed by humans, the company is increasing its use of AI tools to assist with the process.
9to5Mac’s opinion
It’s interesting to see that over the past few months, more and more people are interested in developing their own apps.
Despite the grumpy reaction from commentators who push back against anything AI-related, the Vibe coding tool offers real value and opens up new possibilities, especially for people interested in building small projects, either as a hobby or something others might find useful.
Of course, these tools are still far from being able to support anyone looking to build and run an entirely new business. Still, from what I’ve seen (and have been watching this market closely), that expectation doesn’t reflect how most people actually use Vibe coding tools today.
Apple also recently updated Xcode to support coding models and agents. Unfortunately, its approach still leans toward more technical users, but tools like Anything are further abstracting the coding process, a direction that clearly resonates with a growing user base.
With WWDC26 just around the corner and vibecoding continuing to gain traction, it will be interesting to see if Apple updates its App Store rules to reflect these new development patterns, especially apps that rely on code generated and interpreted by AI to enhance user-driven creativity.
After all, that’s what Apple has always said the App Store is all about.
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