With a new tool called Mobile Apps by Replit, users can describe their idea, let Replit do its thing, and then scan a QR code to test the app on their iPhones. Here are the details.

Creating a simple app in about 10 minutes

Replit announced this week Mobile Apps by Replit, an interesting vibe coding platform that builds React Native apps based on user prompts. (Why React Native? Probably because Replit’s CEO and co-founder, Amjad Masad, worked on the team that invented React Native while at Facebook.)

The company says that the main objective of Mobile Apps by Replit is to remove the entry barriers for app development, which “usually means learning a specialized stack, wrestling with Xcode/Android Studio, certificates, and submission workflows”.

Replit says that users just need to describe their idea, wait a few minutes while the platform builds a React Native app, then scan a QR code to test it on their phones.

One interesting aspect of Mobile Apps by Replit is that its app development process is entirely transparent, so users can see the step-by-step process as the platform builds the app, tests it, fixes bugs, and so on.

Once the app is ready, users can ask Mobile Apps by Replit to make tweaks and adjustments until they’re happy with the result. Of course, developers can also step in and edit the generated code directly, if they wish.

In my test with a free account, which reached the daily usage limit after one iteration, I asked for an Apple history trivia game in the style of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. It took Mobile Apps by Replit 8 minutes to create the app, then about 10 minutes to iterate on the first result.

Here’s what it came up with:

Yep, plenty of problems, which could probably be fixed with a couple more iterations had I not hit the free limit (or if I’d put more effort into the initial prompt). That’s a “not bad” in my book, considering this kind of possibility barely existed less than a year ago.

Would this app be ready to hit the App Store? Absolutely not. But it’s easy to see how Mobile Apps by Replit could be useful for a personal pet project, or even a fun, creative activity for the kids over the weekend.

And speaking of the App Store

One of the tentpole features of Mobile Apps by Replit is that once users are happy with their app, they can publish it to the App Store, provided they have an Apple Developer account.

Of course, from that point on, this would mean actually supporting users who may also download the app, as well as handling use cases that could go beyond what a vibe-coded app (and a vibe-coding developer) can handle.

So it’s probably best to think twice before treating a vibe-coded app like a professional product, especially if you’re not a developer. While the barrier to entry is lower than ever, the bar for maintaining a real app hasn’t moved.

Still, for non-developers looking to experiment with pet projects and their own app ideas, Mobile Apps by Replit could be a fun place to start.

To learn more about Mobile Apps by Replit, follow this link.

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