Vibe coding is reportedly fueling a surge of low-quality and spam-like applications in Apple’s iOS App Store. According to data from Sensor Tower and Wells Fargo Securities, cited by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), the number of newly published iOS apps in December 2025 increased by 60% year-over-year. Over the past twelve months, overall growth reached 24%, following nearly three years of stagnation in new app releases.

Source: a16z
Source: a16z

The acceleration reportedly began with the rise of so-called “agentic coding” — AI-powered development tools that automate large portions of the software creation process. Andreessen Horowitz compares the current wave to 2008, when Apple launched its first iPhone SDK. At that time, the App Store debuted with around 500 applications, yet surpassed one million downloads within a single weekend, marking the beginning of the modern app economy.

However, the analysis stops short of confirming a direct causal link between vibe coding tools and the explosion in app publishing. While AI-assisted development has clearly lowered technical barriers, it remains unclear to what extent these tools are directly responsible for the increase in low-quality or spam-like submissions.