Data from Sensor Tower and Wells Fargo Securities suggests that AI coding tools are flooding the iOS App Store. According to a16zNew iOS apps grew 60% year over year in December 2025 and 24% for the full 12 months. Three years ago, the number of new apps was pretty much flat.

Our analysis links this spike to “agent coding.” AI-powered tools that allow users to build apps with minimal coding experience. a16z is similar to 2008, when Apple released the iPhone SDK and the App Store launched with 500 apps but reached 1 million downloads within a weekend.

The analysis does not prove that vibe coding is the cause of the increase. The correlation may be coincidental. Still, it makes intuitive sense. Building apps is now much easier and more people can submit their ideas to the App Store.