Vibe coding has shaken the App Store. As stated at WWDC, over 1000 apps are being submitted every hour. Apps can be built substantially faster now – creating a flood of submissions. This is a bit of an issue when there’s only one true method of distributing apps on iPhone, at least in most of the world.
Apple recently introduced a higher review bar for App Store submissions, and while that’s certainly a step in the right direction – I don’t think it’s a full solution.
If you were around the app developer community during COVID, you might remember a thing called Airport. It was an App Store for TestFlight apps, allowing developers to share their apps that weren’t yet on the App Store, whilst having wider reach than just their friends, family, or any social media audience they may have.
Airport was a beautiful thing, and it gave many indie developers a platform they might’ve not ordinarily had. People were discovering fun, new, small apps – and none of it had to touch the App Store.
TestFlight is really the only distribution model outside of the App Store (and alternative markets/sideloading in the EU and select other regions). It has a few shortcomings, though. You can’t have more than 10,000 testers, and by default, the only way to get your app around is by sharing a link or inviting someone via email. There isn’t really a discovery process yet.
Airport made that discovery process, but ultimately, Apple never wanted to approve Airport for the App Store, and it ended up fizzling away.
In the era of vibe coding though, where so many people are just making small tools that they just want to share with a small audience – I think a new ‘Airport’ of sorts from Apple would make sense. It could be something as simple as a Discover tab in the TestFlight app.
Additionally, Apple would likely need to come up with a way to expand the 10,000 user limit on TestFlight. That’s probably fine given the fact that TestFlight apps have relaxed review standards, but ideally developers should be able to request more if their apps are proving successful.
Either way, I don’t think simply changing App Store review guidelines will reduce how many vibe coded apps are getting created. People will always want to create things. Apple should likely come up with a better distribution solution that allows the App Store to stay high-quality while also allowing people’s small projects to be shared around. A better TestFlight sharing process would likely be a great step toward that.
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Michael is 9to5Mac’s Weekend Editor, keeping up with all of the latest Apple news on Saturday and Sunday. He got started in the world of Apple news during the pandemic, and it became a growing hobby. He’s also an indie iOS developer in his free time, and has published numerous apps over the years.
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