I didn't know that was the definition of vibe coding, but I do know that so many devs use ai to help them quickly make specific edits. And tbh, it's more helpful than sifting for solutions through stack overflow (an amazing resource) before necessary. I can't remember the last time I've gone there. One day I might feel nostalgia...not yet
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Apple Quietly Blocks Updates for Popular 'Vibe Coding' Apps [Updated]
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Fully disagree. You should NOT need to learn to program to create an app if all it takes is telling an AI agent to do that for you in plain English.
I don't need my grandmother to learn programming to create her party planning app.
The utility is the goal, not the process.
Life is short. If you can program, GOOD FOR YOU. The rest of us have other things they can spend their time on.
Lol. I honestly can't tell if you're joking, and at the same time, I can totally see the appeal of that, but I might wait a sec on the vibe-coded bookkeeping system
Rafagon
macrumors 65816
Great, what's next?
Vibe Surgery
Vibe Aviation
Stop taking shortcuts. Learn skills the hard way before you do things which may negatively affect others.
Vibe Surgery
Vibe Aviation
Stop taking shortcuts. Learn skills the hard way before you do things which may negatively affect others.
Honestly, Apple and all of the other silicon valley giants are guilty of doing this. Apple software used to be the gold standard for perfection. These days it’s like going into the Amazon at night without spray, bugs everywhere. It shows how bad coding has become at Apple and other well known companies. If they can hire someone cheaper they can ‘vibe’ their way through something, then they don’t have to pay top dollar to a dev/programmer. They will cheap out any chance they can
And how will you ever be able to check the code for possible issues/exploits? Or if the code is mining your data without your permission (just one example)?
Are you completely unaware of what LLMs are capable of doing?
You understand that static analysis exists, right?
I think that's what telegraph operators said when the telephone first came onto the scene.
(For context, I program professionally and have learned the skills the hard way. Gatekeeping is still BS.)
As a software developer for over 30 years, working at Microsoft, Nintendo, and other companies, as well as running my own company that makes apps for Apple and Google devices for over 16 years now, I highly DISAGREE. I was one of the first 500 developers to ever have an app on Apple’s App Store.
I know everything from Swift to C# to Python and Kotlin, SQL, VBScript, Powershell, Objective-C, PHP, among others. And markup languages and formats like HTML, XAML, CSS, JSON, and so on. I’ve done it all. And I’ll say this….
Vibe coding is the new way of the world (for the most part). I’m highly skilled and make a lot of money with my business, and I vibe code now daily, all day. If you’re not on the train soon, you’re getting left behind.
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jimscard
macrumors 6502
No. Closing of severe security vulnerabilities that said apps provide (but wouldn’t have, if their dev teams did proper threat modeling and designed them to comply with longstanding app store rules and safety standards.)
jimscard
macrumors 6502
Good. Apple doing the right thing to protect users’ safety.
Apple has quietly blocked AI "vibe coding" apps, such as Replit and Vibecode, from releasing App Store updates unless they make changes, The Information reports.
"Vibe coding" tools allow users with little to no programming experience to build apps or websites using natural language prompts. Their accessibility has driven rapid adoption among both developers and non-technical users.
Apple told The Information that certain vibe coding features breach long-standing App Store rules prohibiting apps from executing code that alters their own functionality or that of other apps. Some of these apps also support building software for Apple devices, which may have contributed to a recent surge in new App Store submissions and, in some cases, slower approval times, according to developers.
An Apple spokesperson said the policy is not targeted specifically at vibe coding apps. However, some people familiar with the matter said Apple was close to approving updates for Replit and Vibecode after the developers agreed to modify how their apps preview generated content or remove certain capabilities altogether, such as creating apps for Apple platforms.
When platforms like Replit generate an app, they typically display it within the original app using an embedded web view. This is something Apple seems to object to. The company now expects approval if it adjusts its app to open generated apps in an external browser rather than an in-app web view.
In Vibecode's case, the review team indicated it would likely approve updates if the app removed the ability to generate software specifically for Apple devices, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The Information claims that Apple's intervention risks undermining view coding apps' usability and growth. For example, since its last update in January, Replit's mobile app has fallen from first to third place in Apple's free developer tools rankings, a decline the company attributes in part to its inability to release updates, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Vibe coding apps present a potential concern for Apple because they enable users to build applications that operate outside the App Store ecosystem, while also competing with Xcode. Some developers believe Apple has an incentive to steer them toward its own tools, which could make switching to alternative platforms more difficult.
Update: Apple told MacRumors that it does not have any rules specifically against "vibe coding" apps and that the App Review Guidelines are designed to encourage innovation while preserving safety for users. The company pointed to App Review Guideline 2.5.2:
Likewise, the Developer Program License says that code may be downloaded to an app, but only if it "does not change the primary purpose" of the app by "providing features or functionality that are inconsistent with the intended and advertised purpose" of the app.
When Apple discovers that an app is not complying with App Store rules, it generally explains the violation to developer and seeks to work with it to help bring the app into compliance. In the case mentioned in The Information's report, Apple says it maintained consistent contact with the developer about guideline violations.
Article Link: Apple Quietly Blocks Updates for Popular 'Vibe Coding' Apps [Updated]
It’s clear that the developers of these apps didn’t follow industry-standard secure app development practices, including threat modeling, which would have identified the vulnerabilities Apple has pointed out and is helping them fix.
ArrayDecay
macrumors 6502
btrach144
macrumors 68040
All the complainers in here about vibe coding clearly spent $100k on a computer science degree.
While vibe coding right now should not be used to make large apps for customer consumption, my team at work who have little to no coding experience has been developing internal tools that have greatly increased our efficiency. They still have to go through the same security reviews, privacy reviews, accessibility reviews, responsible AI reviews. And guess what? They’re passing the reviews with their vibe coded apps at similar rates as apps put together by employees with CS degrees from Ivy League.
And vibe coding has only been around for a few years. Imagine how much it’ll evolve in 3-5 years.
It’s funny seeing all the classic CS degrees in here worried. No other degree overnight has been threatened as quickly as a CS degree.
And let’s not forget that most of these apps would have been approved if they were developed as Xcode extensions and not stand alone apps. Apple rejected these apps because they went outside their sandbox, not because Apple is against vibe coding.
Apple stands to gain a lot from vibe coding. More apps and new ideas for the App Store. More applications for jobs, and thus the requirement to pay less since the next decade plus will be an employer hiring market with all the looming SDE layoffs. Apple is in a really good spot.
While vibe coding right now should not be used to make large apps for customer consumption, my team at work who have little to no coding experience has been developing internal tools that have greatly increased our efficiency. They still have to go through the same security reviews, privacy reviews, accessibility reviews, responsible AI reviews. And guess what? They’re passing the reviews with their vibe coded apps at similar rates as apps put together by employees with CS degrees from Ivy League.
And vibe coding has only been around for a few years. Imagine how much it’ll evolve in 3-5 years.
It’s funny seeing all the classic CS degrees in here worried. No other degree overnight has been threatened as quickly as a CS degree.
And let’s not forget that most of these apps would have been approved if they were developed as Xcode extensions and not stand alone apps. Apple rejected these apps because they went outside their sandbox, not because Apple is against vibe coding.
Apple stands to gain a lot from vibe coding. More apps and new ideas for the App Store. More applications for jobs, and thus the requirement to pay less since the next decade plus will be an employer hiring market with all the looming SDE layoffs. Apple is in a really good spot.
boswald
macrumors 68020
I just read a statistic about our local schools, and our reading and math comprehension for high school (!) is, on average, a 4th grade level.
I know EXACTLY what they are. That doesn’t answer my question.
Your implication is that AI can write code that’s 100% free of bugs/exploits or other bad behaviors.
Perhaps Apple & Google should simply get an LLM to go over their operating systems and eliminate all possible exploits in a single pass. What a world we live in where software has finally achieved perfection.
You don’t see the difference between an experienced developer using an AI tool (and understanding what it can/can’t do) to enhance their workflow vs a complete novice trying to use it to develop finished production-ready Apps?
That is what people in this thread are suggesting.
ProbablyDylan
macrumors 68040
HouseLannister
macrumors 68040
Ever had a dental implant? It feels like vibe surgery when a dentist is cutting into your gums.
Sounds to me like you're deliberately deskilling yourself, and becoming overly reliant on AI.
Most of your post smacks of opinion painted as fact, and comes across as being rather patronizing, self-aggrandizing and superior. Perhaps vibe coding is good for you, but expecting it to be good for everyone else and for them to accept it unquestioningly strikes me as rather presumptuous.
As for the trains you mention, to extend the analogy, there are about 42367 different trains available for us developers to get on with AI, but around 42360 of them will derail or crash at some point.
Correct. That's EXACTLY what they are doing.
The quicker people understand that LLMs write code better than the worlds top programmers, the better off everyone will be.
People think too highly of themselves.
HouseLannister
macrumors 68040
They are taking that code from a model built on the work of the world's top programmers, so sure. But yes, given enough iterations and cross-checks with multiple LLMs, you can vibe code great stuff. However, the majority will still be slop because people can now create endless clones and low value crap. It will be very difficult to find the good vibe coded apps among all the drivel. It lowers the bar for entry and that is a net negative, but there is no turning back now.
yup.. places like Mac apps (on reddit) had to add rules to stop the flood of crappy "vibe coded" apps from overwhelming the subreddit...
The same thing has happened on the MS store and the PS store... so Apple is trying to stop it before it begins
Yet we still have software with bugs and exploits. Odd how that problem hasn’t been solved by LLMs yet.
Even more odd that you think your grandmother needs to tell AI to create a party planning App when she could simply just ask AI to plan her party and completely eliminate the step of making an App.
Seems you’re not thinking logically about this whole thing.
Vibe coding micro-apps that scratch your personal itch is actually one use-case for LLMs that I can completely get behind. It seems strange for Apple to maintain such a strict stance on them. Didn't Steve Jobs coin the phrase that computers should be a bicycle for the mind?
Imagine a doctor putting your medical history into AI (medications, bloodwork, x-rays, EKG…) and then the AI spits out a diagnosis. The person who looks at the diagnosis to verify if it’s correct is STILL a doctor.
Would you upload your medical history to a website and then just assume the diagnosis/treatment plan was correct? Or would you want a medical doctor to double-check it for you?
I’m not against AI. I think it’s a great tool that people can use to improve their workflow or efficiency. I don’t believe it’s infallible and capable of completely replacing skilled workers.
Would you upload your medical history to a website and then just assume the diagnosis/treatment plan was correct? Or would you want a medical doctor to double-check it for you?
I’m not against AI. I think it’s a great tool that people can use to improve their workflow or efficiency. I don’t believe it’s infallible and capable of completely replacing skilled workers.