GoKawiilThe big picture: The number of app submissions to Apple's App Store has risen sharply in 2026, with almost 560,000 new apps reportedly added to the platform between January and June. However, most of these new apps appear to be low-quality offerings, seemingly generated by AI amid a vibecoding trend that is sweeping the developer community.
Data from Sensor Tower suggests that app submissions to the App Store have risen steadily over the past few years, after bottoming out at around 420,000 in 2022. Last year, around 600,000 new apps were listed on the App Store, up 30% from 2024.
The report adds that the number of app submissions has already doubled in the first half of this year, with the momentum expected to continue for the foreseeable future. At the current pace, the App Store is on track to add more than one million new apps in 2026, surpassing its previous record of 890,000 set in 2016.
While the sharp increase in app submissions is a positive development for the global app economy, there is a marked difference in the profile of people submitting apps for approval. The earlier boom was driven entirely by actual developers, whereas the current surge is being driven primarily by people with little or no coding experience.
According to the report, tens of thousands of apps are being created using readily available AI coding tools such as Replit and Bolt.new, which can generate full-stack applications from natural-language prompts. Professional and hobbyist developers are also increasingly using agentic AI tools and assistants, such as Claude Code and GitHub Copilot, to aid them in app development.
Unfortunately for vibe coders, these AI-generated apps are not finding many takers, with App Store downloads reportedly increasing by just 3% last year and 2% so far in 2026. Phillip Shoemaker, who ran the App Store from 2009 to 2016, also recently warned that the surge could strain Apple's resources and allow malicious actors to push malware onto the App Store.
The supply shock is also seemingly delaying the approval process, with complaints on Apple's developer forums suggesting that the time required to approve new apps has increased significantly in recent months. However, Apple has denied those claims, telling The New York Times that it approves 90% of apps within 48 hours.
Copycat apps are also on the rise, with many social media users complaining about low-quality, AI-generated clones that look and function like bad rip-offs of established apps. Recent media reports have also highlighted that many of the new apps on the App Store are either privacy nightmares or simply don't function as advertised.