The Vibe Coding Effect? Apple’s App Store Saw 84% Jump in New Apps in Quarter

For much of the last decade, the number of new apps launching in Apple’s App each year went into a tailspin, falling a whopping 48% between 2016 and 2024, according to data from research firm Sensor Tower. At least that was the case until last year. In 2025, the number of new apps that showed up in the App globally suddenly exploded, growing 30% to nearly 600,000 compared to 2024, according to Sensor Tower. And the momentum seems to be accelerating. In the first quarter of 2026, new apps published to the App globally were up 84% to 235,800 from the same period a year earlier.