Apple’s App Store added approximately 560,000 new apps in the first half of 2026 alone, nearly matching the total for all of 2025. At the current pace, the platform is on track to surpass one million new app submissions by year’s end, eclipsing the previous record of 890,000 set in 2016. The surge is being driven largely by vibe coding, an AI-assisted development approach that lets people build and publish apps with little to no programming experience.
Tools like Replit and Bolt.new can generate full-stack applications from natural language prompts. In contrast, agentic AI tools like Claude Code and GitHub Copilot are increasingly being used by both professional and hobbyist developers to accelerate their output. The result is a wave of app submissions from people who would never have entered the developer ecosystem before.
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The problem is that downloads are not keeping pace. App Store downloads rose just 3% in 2025 and 2% in the first half of 2026, meaning app growth is far outstripping user demand. Most of what is flooding the platform is finding virtually no audience, and copycat apps, privacy-questionable clones, and apps that simply do not function as advertised are becoming more common. Former App Store chief Phillip Shoemaker, who ran the platform from 2009 to 2016, has warned that the surge could strain Apple’s review resources and create openings for malicious actors.
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Question #1
How are agentic AI tools like Claude Code and GitHub Copilot being used differently from Replit and Bolt.new according to the article?
Question #2
What trend is reported about App Store downloads in 2025 and the first half of 2026, and how does that relate to new app submissions?
Question #3
What types of problematic apps does the article say are increasing on the App Store as submissions rise?
Question #4
What did former App Store chief Phillip Shoemaker warn could happen due to the surge in submissions?
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A spokesperson told the New York Times that 90% of submissions are reviewed within 48 hours and that all apps are held to the same quality, privacy, and security standards regardless of how they were built. Apple also has a financial incentive to stay positive on the trend, since vibe-coded apps tend to monetise through ads rather than in-app purchases, meaning Apple earns no commission from them anyway.
