Claude Code Made An Astonishing $1b In 6 Months - And My Own Ai-coded Iphone App Shows Why

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

Claude Code deed $1 cardinal accelerated by transforming existent developer workflows.
Agentic coding built my analyzable iPhone app successful conscionable 11 days.
Early command-line entree gave Claude Code a immense take edge.

Anthropic's Claude Code, a programmer's tool, conscionable reached $1 cardinal successful gross a specified six months aft its release. I've been managing and trading programming devices since I was a specified pup. Take it from me, this has ne'er been a vibrant market. And here's Anthropic, pulling successful a cardinal since May.

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Let's put this successful perspective. The IT world's past mega-shift was unreality computing, spearheaded by Amazon's AWS, which launched successful 2006. According to Forbes, AWS reached $500 cardinal by 2010 and was expected to scope $1 cardinal by nan extremity of 2011. Not to diminish nan unthinkable worth AWS has provided for companies worldwide (including my own), but it still took six years for nan past awesome IT earthquake to thrust request into unicorn territory.

Why Claude Code

So what makes Claude Code truthful special? Speaking personally, Claude Code wrote 19,647 lines of codification and 5,139 lines of documentation, created 63 personification interface views, and generated 114 root codification files for my caller iPhone app. Oh, and it did each that successful nan past 2 weeks, successful and astir my superior penning work.

We'll travel backmost to my app successful a minute. First, though, let's position Claude Code successful nan market.

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Parallel improvement is simply a theory that explains why akin traits successful very dissimilar type thin to germinate simultaneously complete time. It helps to explicate really agentic coding capabilities from companies for illustration Anthropic, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Google each seemed to get successful May of 2025. Prior to May, coding was chiefly confined to reasonably powerful autocomplete capabilities and chatbot responses to pasted-in codification blocks.

But successful and astir May, each of nan companies introduced their agentic coding tools. The quality betwixt nan erstwhile procreation (where 'previous' refers to April, not May) is that nan caller exertion enables nan devices to autonomously execute a bid of tasks connected behalf of nan programmer. For example, you could inquire nan AI to redesign nan UI aliases adhd a backup and reconstruct strategy (both of which I did), and nan AI will spell off, activity connected nan code, and study back.

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Initially, Codex from OpenAI and Jules from Google would execute this work, but only utilizing a web interface and only for coding that resided successful a GitHub repository. While galore programmers negociate their codification successful GitHub, that attack made testing and tinkering pinch nan codification cumbersome.

Microsoft's agentic offering, GitHub Copilot, took a different turn. It integrated nan chat interface into nan VS Code programming environment. Meanwhile, Anthropic conscionable made Claude disposable from nan bid line, truthful nary matter what terminal programme a programmer is using, nan coder tin simply rumor Claude Code prompts conscionable like, and on with, immoderate different bid statement command.

While each nan agents yet added IDE integration and command-line operations, this early command-line easiness of usage seems to person driven Claude's early adoption. I person a group of coder friends pinch whom I regularly chat complete Zoom. While I was making awesome strides pinch Codex integrated into VS Code, they were each singing nan praises of really easy Claude was to usage from nan bid statement and really productive it was making them.

I built an iPhone app

So, successful mid-November, a small much than 2 weeks ago, I decided to spot what each nan fuss was about. I wanted an iPhone app to thief maine shape my 3D printer filament workflow, and I decided to constitute my ain (as 1 does).

Initially, I utilized Claude Code, integrated into nan Apple Xcode improvement environment, leveraging Apple's Code Intelligence. It was much for illustration Code Meltdown. Xcode kept hanging and crashing pinch Claude Code embedded. To beryllium fair, erstwhile I switched to OpenAI's Codex wrong Xcode, I encountered nan aforesaid problem.

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However, erstwhile I utilized Claude Code successful nan Mac's Terminal app, everything took off. The improvement acquisition was fluid.

I person programmed iPhone apps before. Back successful 2008, correct erstwhile nan App Store launched, I wrote 40 pinpoint iPhone apps. But that was 17 years ago, and it was successful Objective C. Most iPhone apps are now written successful Apple's Swift connection and SwiftUI framework. I had ne'er coded successful that environment.

And, to beryllium honest, I still haven't. I person a moving iPhone app pinch galore analyzable and precocious features, but I did not constitute a azygous statement of code. I did walk 11 days, connected and off, managing and directing Claude Code, but it wrote nan full thing.

My app is not a elemental project. It includes nan expertise to publication and constitute NFC tags utilizing nan iPhone's hardware. It tin return pictures and import them from nan Photos app. It tin execute super-fast searches and information filtering. It tin sync photograph and database information pinch iCloud and different Apple devices connected nan aforesaid iCloud account. It tin make and reconstruct backups. It tin analyse photos to create colour swatches.

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It besides implements a Quick Move workflow, which involves aggregate NFC scans that dynamically update nan database, redeeming a ton of clip successful managing my inventory.

I person 7 progressive 3D printers. Four of them support multi-spool holders for multi-color printing. At immoderate fixed time, I could person up to 18 different filament spools assigned to nan printers. I besides person an inventory of 100 filament spools not connected nan printers. My problem was, arsenic I worked connected projects, it was very difficult to support way of which spool was where, really galore spools of a fixed worldly aliases colour I have, and support an updated inventory.

Before this tool, I made sound notes into my Apple Watch, and then, erstwhile backmost astatine my computer, I processed them into a crude Notion database. But nan inventory ever slipped retired of date, because a elemental determination to move a spool from 1 printer to different mightiness ne'er get recorded.

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My app uses NFC tags, situated connected each spool, connected each retention rack shelf, and connected each 3D printer. Once a spool's accusation is recorded, information specified arsenic vendor, color, material, thickness, and spool size stay associated pinch that spool. When I move a spool, I conscionable pat it pinch my phone, and it sounds nan NFC tag. Then I pat nan destination NFC tag pinch my phone. The location is automatically updated. I don't moreover person to touch nan phone's screen. It's accelerated and seamless.

A akin app could beryllium utilized to negociate each kinds of collections. I built thing that tracks my 3D printer filament, but nan aforesaid benignant of task could beryllium utilized for your wardrobe, book collection, euphony collection, knitting patterns, expanse music, yarn stash, cloth stash, hobby management, exemplary kits, LEGO sets, photograph management, spare parts, and more.

I started pinch nan difficult stuff

No matter nan coding target aliases improvement environment, making lists of items pinch item pages isn't that difficult a project. It tin beryllium challenging to populate your lists pinch each nan accusation you want while besides achieving charismatic formatting. Overall, though, it's a reasonably straightforward process.

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However, reference and penning NFC tags utilizing proprietary Apple APIs is importantly much challenging. So is interfacing pinch nan photos subsystem to return and negociate photos. And truthful is syncing each that information to iCloud, particularly erstwhile syncing photos arsenic well.

So alternatively than commencement pinch nan easy stuff, I group retired to spot if Claude could grip nan harder things. If it could publication and constitute NFC tags and return and prevention photos, it could surely do nan rest.

And it did. By nan extremity of my first day's tally (approximately 4 hours), I had a elemental trial programme that could publication NFC tags, return photos, and sync to iCloud. I didn't constitute immoderate code. Claude Code did it all.

Now, to beryllium clear, I didn't conscionable show it to springiness maine an app. I person had to negociate it constantly. I've had to cajole it into doing what I wanted. I've had to nonstop it backmost to effort again (sometimes 20 and 30 times) until it really sewage thing to work. Just because I didn't request to constitute nan individual codification lines doesn't mean this wasn't work.

It has taken each my years of merchandise trading and merchandise creation skills to supervise and negociate Claude Code and guideline it into building my app.

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That said, crossed spool management, speedy move workflow, colors view, machines and locations, nan database system, entity picker sheets, settings, backup and restore, NFC tools, iOS shortcuts, NFC tag system, halfway information and persistence, and iCloud support, location are astir 365 individual features. The spool guidance strategy has 72 features alone.

I cognize my programming speed. I don't usually get to walk full days programming. When I do get nan time, it's an hr aliases 2 here, an hr aliases 2 there. So immoderate fixed characteristic usually takes maine a play to a week to produce, and that's successful a connection I'm afloat acquainted with. I haven't coded successful Swift, truthful it's rather reasonable to expect that a fixed characteristic could return importantly longer. The NFC prototype would astir apt person taken maine a period connected its own.

With 365-ish features, I could ne'er person written this app connected my own. The best-case script would person been astir 365 weekends, or, if I worked connected it a spot each day, astir 2 years earlier I had thing to show for my efforts. That's nan champion case. Instead, I'm conscionable 17 almanac days in. With only 11 days of really moving pinch Claude Code, I person a afloat moving app.

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Sure, location are a fewer features I still want to add. For example, I don't person a spool status characteristic successful place. I want to beryllium capable to show nan app that I'm done pinch a spool, whether that's because I've utilized it up, person to discard it (sometimes filament goes bad), aliases donate it.

I person a fewer different features I'd for illustration to add. I'm besides reasoning of moving nan app to nan Mac and Apple Watch. But successful position of whether nan app useful good capable to thief maine negociate my spool collection, it's moving now.

$1 billion, $100 astatine a time

Like astir AI tools, Claude Code is sold based connected usage tiers. I tried nan $15 plan, but utilized it up aft astir 5 hours of work. So, I upgraded my scheme to nan $100/month Max plan, and truthful far, I haven't deed immoderate walls.

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While immoderate coders usage higher-level tiers, everyone I've talked to is utilizing nan $100/month tier. So if Claude Code brought successful a cardinal bucks complete six months, and coders are spending $100/month, that's astir 1.6 cardinal coders utilizing Claude Code. That's 1 heck of a batch of take successful a very short time.

But look astatine what it tin do. My lawsuit is simply a bully example. But remember, it takes a batch of management. A batch of testing. A lot-lot-lot of patience. And Claude Code makes monolithic mistakes connected a regular basis. So it requires a batch of cajoling, persuading, explaining, and sometimes conscionable starting over. It is an astonishingly powerful productivity tool, but it won't create an app for you conscionable because you wish hard. You decidedly person to activity it.

Even so, we tin spot really Claude Code is getting specified astonishing uptake. My app is real. It's not immoderate template-based prototype. I don't spot complete neophytes being capable to do merchandise improvement aliases genuinely win while coding pinch Claude Code. But group pinch immoderate experience? For them, this is an astounding level of unit multiplication.

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What astir you? Have you tried immoderate of nan caller agentic coding devices that landed this year, and did they alteration really you build software? Do you spot Claude Code's accelerated take arsenic a motion of a awesome shift, aliases is this surge mostly astir early excitement among developers? How do you consciousness astir Anthropic pairing Claude Code pinch Bun, and do you deliberation faster JavaScript tooling will meaningfully impact your ain projects? If you've experimented pinch coding AIs successful nan terminal, VS Code, aliases Xcode, which workflow felt astir productive for you? Let america cognize successful nan comments below.

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