Vibe Coding and the Future of the App Store
I’ve been thinking a lot about where the app store is headed, especially with the rise of Agentic AI.
Here’s my view.
For the last 15 years, we’ve lived in the era of app stores — platforms like the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. If you needed something, you searched, downloaded an app, and adjusted your workflow to whatever features it offered.
Back in 2019, I built an app that recommended beers. I understood the backend well, so that part was straightforward. I built the recommendation engine, designed the APIs, and handled the data model. But I struggled with everything else. I wanted the app to work on both Android and iOS. That meant either maintaining two codebases or learning something cross-platform. I ended up spending a significant amount of time learning React Native just to keep a single codebase. And I’m not a designer. So even after all that effort, the UI wasn’t great. If I had to do this today, the process would look very different. I wouldn’t start with frameworks. I wouldn’t worry about deployment pipelines. I wouldn’t stress about UI design. I would ask an agent:
“Build me a beer recommendation app. Use this backend logic. Make it work on Android and iOS. Keep the UI clean and simple.”
The agent could generate the UI, handle cross-platform deployment, suggest better UX patterns, and even refine the recommendation logic. That’s the real shift. In 2019, building an app required you to be a backend engineer, frontend engineer, mobile developer, and designer. Now, you just need clarity of intent.
Here’s what I think will happen soon.
1. Agentic AI will replace generic apps
Most apps today are generic. They are built for millions of users. Not for you specifically.
If I want:
I have to search the store and in most cases suffer going through the ads or pay a subscription fee. With Agentic AI, I don’t search. I describe.
The AI understands my need and builds the app exactly for my use case. No unnecessary features. No ads. No bloat. Apps stop being fixed products. They become personalized software created on demand. The shift is from “download an app” to “describe what you need.”
2. AI can build and deploy the app
Agentic AI is not just answering questions. It can take action.
It can:
You don’t need to know how to code. You don’t need to understand deployment pipelines. You don’t need to deal with hosting or app store submission.
You simply say:
“Build me an app that tracks my workouts and gives me weekly progress reports.”
The agent builds it and deploys it. Software development becomes intent-driven.
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3. Anyone can get apps deployed without knowing the process
Today, deploying an app involves:
Most people don’t understand any of this. In the future, they won’t need to. You describe the outcome. The AI handles everything behind the scenes. The app appears on your phone. It updates automatically. You don’t even see the complexity.
That’s the real disruption.
What happens to the App Store?
If everyone can generate their own apps, what happens to centralized marketplaces?
Do we still need millions of generic apps competing for downloads?
Maybe app stores evolve into:
Instead of downloading apps, we may subscribe to trusted AI agents that build what we need.
The bigger shift
This impacts:
Developers won’t disappear. But their role shifts from building end-user apps to building AI systems, frameworks, and governance layers. The value moves from distributing apps to orchestrating intelligence.
Final thought
The App Store era was about scale through distribution. The Agentic AI era will be about personalization at scale. We are moving from:
“There’s an app for that.”
to
“There’s an agent building that.”
Curious to hear what others think. Are centralized app stores here to stay, or are we heading toward a world of AI-generated personal software?
If you are a clinical informaticist in the Bay Area then the BAMIS annual symposium is happening this week. There is a session put together by our first year fellows on Vibe coding. Cant wait to see how your examples apply to the healthcare industry as well.
Valid question- I think the central app system would evolve to come up with a Hybrid system that accommodates the software bridge while also being safe enough to meet. upgraded users requirements. Happy to listen to others thoughts