Revealed on: February 6, 2026
AI is altering how we construct apps. That is not information. What may be much less apparent is how this shift is forcing us to assume in a different way about what truly issues in growth. On this publish, I need to share my balanced ideas on AI-driven coding. I might like to present you my perspective on why tons of recent apps on the shop is not as scary because it may appear, and the way AI is making iteration cheaper than ever. I might additionally prefer to discover how the human contact separates polished merchandise from vibe-coded slop when your pushed by offering a superb UX and doing correct consumer analysis.
By the tip, you will hopefully be capable of make up your personal thoughts on how AI is altering what growth means to us.
AI slop and the thought glut
Over the previous months, there’s been an enormous enhance in apps being submitted to the App Retailer. Most of those apps are vibe-coded, constructed tremendous shortly, and shipped to the shop as quickly as attainable (and infrequently include a subscription).
To some, this proves that growth is now simple. Anyone can convert their concepts into apps in a day. To me, it simply proves that concepts had been all the time low-cost. Concepts had been by no means the differentiator of what makes an app nice. It was all the time execution.
Earlier than AI, anybody may have an concept for an app. The barrier was constructing it. Now AI has lowered that barrier considerably, so extra concepts are making it to the shop. However that does not change the elemental reality: a good suggestion poorly executed loses to a mediocre concept brilliantly executed. And let’s be trustworthy, in case you’ve been round in growth lengthy sufficient you will know that the majority concepts aren’t actually that good anyway. A minimum of not adequate to spend weeks of time constructing. With AI we are able to execute any concept in a matter of days or much less.
In case you ask me, what we’re seeing is a flood of apps constructed shortly with out a lot thought put into the precise consumer expertise. AI may help you ship quick, however it might’t let you know whether or not what you are delivery is definitely good. That also requires human judgment, style, and care. And extra importantly, it requires a target market.
AI makes iteration low-cost
This is the place issues get fascinating. In case you care about your product, have a target market, and need to make one thing that works extremely properly, AI turns into a useful instrument for exploration.
You are now capable of iterate quicker than ever. You’ll be able to take a look at extra concepts, discover extra choices, strive extra potentialities. And you are able to do all of this in your precise app earlier than you commit. The price of experimentation has dropped to close zero.
Let me offer you a concrete instance from Maxine, my health app. I just lately added a streaks view. With out AI, this is able to have taken me a day or two to construct. With AI, I constructed it in about 10 minutes. That is primarily a zero-cost funding to strive one thing new and see the way it feels.
Now, I did should make guide changes afterward. The AI bought me 80% of the way in which there, however the final 20% wanted human consideration. And that is wonderful. That is the purpose. I ended up with a function I actually like, and it price me a fraction of the time it will have in any other case. To be completely trustworthy, this function would have been very low on my effort vs. worth record despite the fact that, as soon as I constructed it, it began feeling precious instantly.
I have been doing this always with Maxine’s UI. Between exercise classes (I work out 3 times per week), I will tweak the interface. Sooner or later I will strive a brand new format, get AI to alter issues, then truly use it throughout my subsequent exercise. If one thing feels off, I iterate once more. This fast cycle of build-try-refine is barely attainable as a result of AI has made the constructing half so low-cost.
The code was by no means the exhausting half. The code was, in some ways, the boring half. It was the factor we needed to do, the half the place we spent hours articulating our ideas and plans into precise implementation. Now AI handles that, and we are able to give attention to what actually issues: constructing nice experiences and tweaking the main points to suit our objectives.
Utilizing your personal app is the differentiator
Constructing quick is nice. However once you’re constructing quick and you are not utilizing the app you are constructing, you are not seeing what your customers see. You are not residing life together with your app. Usually that results in a fairly common expertise.
AI usually will not actually do way more than common. It may generate cheap code (in case you’ve arrange good guard rails), it will make wise layouts, respectable flows. But it surely does not know what it looks like to truly use your app in the actual world. Solely you (and your customers) do.
Usually after I strive a brand new UI in Maxine, I create one thing that appears fairly in isolation. It may need gotten some suggestions from friends primarily based on pictures, after which I truly use it throughout a exercise and I notice it is not fairly proper. Possibly it is too vivid after I’m drained and sweaty. Possibly a button is just too small after I’m dashing between units. Possibly the data hierarchy is smart once you’re taking a look at a screenshot however falls aside once you’re truly within the second.
Customers will let you know this too. They will say one thing is just too vivid, too large, too small, no matter. And typically you may’t fairly determine why till you place your self of their sneakers.
This brings me to a UX precept I realized a very long time in the past after I was in school. Think about you are constructing an app that helps customers verify prepare instances. Your consumer needs to know: can I nonetheless make that prepare, or do I have to catch the subsequent one?
The intuition may be to construct an information-dense display. Present all of them their choices. 5 trains, departure instances, platform numbers, switch info.
However take into consideration who’s utilizing this app. There is a good likelihood they’re in a rush. They could actually be operating towards the station, cellphone in hand, attempting to determine the place to go. They do not have time to learn 5 choices and evaluate them.
So as a substitute of giving them every little thing, give them the one possibility that is in all probability what they want. Cut back steps. Make issues apparent. Your app won’t find yourself trying as refined or complete once you’re sitting at your desk designing it. However when you begin utilizing it, as soon as you place your self in your consumer’s state of affairs, you will construct one thing that really serves them.
In order for you your UI to be good for what the app does, you must use your app. You need to construct area data. Generally you will construct one thing that does not look proper in isolation however works completely in context. That is not a bug. That is craft.
The human contact vs. vibe-coded slop
My solely actual argument in opposition to delivery quick with AI is that this: do not ship quick for the sake of delivery quick.
AI may help you construct slop actually shortly. And you do not need to construct AI slop. You need to construct one thing good.
Certain, you may be tempted to chase fast releases for fast cash. However that does not make your apps higher. It does not construct one thing you are happy with. It does not create one thing customers will truly love and persist with.
The strongest argument in favor of AI-driven coding, and one I utterly agree with, is that it permits us to give attention to what actually issues. The implementation particulars had been by no means the fascinating a part of constructing software program. The fascinating half is determining what to construct and the way it ought to really feel.
AI lets us iterate quicker than ever. It lets us strive issues we would not have bothered attempting earlier than as a result of the fee was too excessive. However the human judgment, the style, the empathy in your customers—that is nonetheless solely on you.
Once you mix quick iteration with real look after the product, you get one thing particular. Once you mix quick iteration with indifference, you get slop.
Abstract
AI is altering growth, however not in the way in which the doomsayers counsel. Sure, there are extra apps than ever. However concepts had been by no means the differentiator—execution was, and execution nonetheless requires human judgment.
The actual alternative right here is that AI makes iteration almost free. You’ll be able to strive issues, use them, refine them, and take a look at once more. The builders who will stand out are those who truly use their very own apps, who put themselves of their customers’ sneakers, who care sufficient to shine past what AI generates.
Use AI to hurry up the boring elements. Use your personal judgment for every little thing else. That human contact is what separates craft from slop.
