The Fruity Cargo Cult Apple is upsetting vibe coding start-ups with erratic App Store rulings on AI-built software.
Replit, valued at $9 billion and backed by venture capital outfit Andreessen Horowitz, said Job’s Mob was blocking updates to its iPhone app.
Start-up Anything said its app had been repeatedly blocked and twice removed after first being approved.
Its accounts, along with Job’s Mob communications how how the iPhone maker is handling apps that let users generate and test software with AI.
Job’s Mob said its review process was designed to protect users’ privacy and security. It denied that a flood of AI-generated apps had slowed approvals.
Start-ups reckon the company is struggling to apply existing App Store rules to a new class of AI tools. These can generate, preview and launch software almost instantly.
Anything founder Dhruv Amin said: “We’re in the dark. Either they should stop enforcing the rules in this weird way, or they should update the guidelines to let this use case emerge.”
The row centres on a long-standing App Store rule that bans apps from downloading or installing code that changes their functionality.
Job’s Mob says the restriction is meant to stop unvetted software running on iPhones. However, Apple told Anything that previews of apps built with AI-generated code breached that rule. The company used a broad ban on “downloading code”.
After Anything removed the preview feature and resubmitted its app, Job’s Mob rejected it again on different grounds. It said the app now offered “minimum functionality”, according to the correspondence.
Job’s Mob briefly restored Anything to the App Store in early April, then removed it again within a day. It cited the original code-downloading restriction.
Other developers have reported similar bother. Replit said it was “surprised and disappointed” at the move to block updates to its app, given that we have been on the platform for years, abiding by their rules.
The start-up said it was “in discussions with Apple” and hoped to resolve the issue. Another app, Vibecode, has had updates delayed.
According to Sensor Tower, the number of iOS apps released globally in 2025 rose 30 per cent year on year. That was a sharp acceleration compared with 2024.
Arena chief executive Anastasios Angelopoulos said there had been a “big upsurge in vibe coding” driven by AI agents that can write and run code.
“The barrier to entry for building an app is getting extremely low,” Angelopoulos said.
Of course, this is all hypocritical as Job’s Mob is embracing similar technology elsewhere in its own walled garden. In February, it updated Xcode to include AI coding agents from outfits including Anthropic and OpenAI.
Andreessen Horowitz partner David George said moves to “pump the brakes” on some vibe-coding apps, under the banner of security, risked stifling innovation and competition.
