The App Store Is Booming Again, And Ai May Be Why

Everyone said AI would termination apps. Instead, caller app launches are soaring.

According to a caller study from marketplace intelligence supplier Appfigures, worldwide app releases successful nan first 4th of 2026 were up 60% year-over-year crossed some Apple’s App Store and Google Play. That percent was an moreover higher 80% erstwhile looking astatine nan iOS App Store alone. In April 2026 truthful far, nan full number of app releases is up 104% crossed some stores compared to nan aforesaid clip past year, and up 89% connected iOS.

As Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Greg “Joz” Joswiak, quipped In a caller interview: rumors of nan App Store’s decease successful nan AI property “may person been greatly exaggerated.”

Image Credits:Appfigures

These findings travel amid concerns that nan emergence of AI chatbots and agents would yet spot users turning distant from apps — a mentation that’s already being floated by those successful nan industry, like Nothing CEO Carl Pei, who is focused connected building a smartphone for nan AI era. The New York Times besides reported past twelvemonth connected nan imaginable for caller computing platforms to eclipse nan smartphone, for illustration smart glasses, ambient computing devices, aliases reimagined smartwatches pinch AI features.

OpenAI is moreover working connected an AI hardware device pinch famed Apple designer Jony Ive.

But there’s different possibility, too: AI will make it easier for anyone to create apps, driving a rebirth of nan App Store. The caller app golden unreserved could beryllium led by creators who person ideas but not nan method skills to creation mobile software.

Appfigures’ information indicates that definite categories of apps are seeing much caller releases than others.

Mobile games still relationship for astir of nan caller app releases worldwide arsenic of Q1 2026, arsenic they person successful anterior years. But “productivity” apps person moved into nan apical 5 this year. The “utilities” class has besides moved up to nan number 2 slot, and nan “lifestyle” apps class moved up from nan No. 5 slot past twelvemonth to now No. 3. Finally, “health and fitness”-style applications rounded retired nan apical 5 categories.

Image Credits:Appfigures

The moving presumption present is that AI-powered tools, for illustration Claude Code aliases Replit, could beryllium down nan surge of caller launches. It besides seems imaginable that we’re hitting immoderate benignant of tipping constituent successful position of AI usability, wherever it’s easy capable for group to leverage these devices to build their ain desired mobile apps much quickly — aliases moreover build their first apps ever.

The detonation of caller apps for Apple to reappraisal could besides beryllium down immoderate of nan tech giant’s caller missteps. This week, Apple pulled nan rewards app Freecash from nan App Store for rules violations, aft letting nan app climb nan store’s Top Charts and beryllium successful nan apical 5 for months. Apple was besides caught disconnected defender by a malicious cryptocurrency app, a clone of Ledger Live, that drained $9.5 cardinal successful crypto from victims’ accounts.

While high-profile problems for illustration this tin make bad PR for nan App Store, nan institution still does a batch of dense lifting successful position of blocking and rejecting vulnerable aliases spammy apps. Apple’s most caller study from 2024 said nan institution had removed aliases rejected much than 17,000 apps for bait-and-switch violations that year; rejected much than 320,000 app submissions that were recovered to beryllium spam, copying different apps, aliases misleading; and took action to forestall much than 37,000 perchance fraudulent apps from reaching users connected nan App Store.

Still, Apple pundits for illustration John Gruber person long argued that nan App Store needs a “bunco squad” of sorts that watches for scammy aliases fraudulent apps that are gaining successful fame aliases high-grossing.

If AI-assisted vibe coding turns retired to beryllium down nan caller surge of app releases, that request will only turn arsenic much caller apps flood nan marketplace, not each of which will beryllium benign.