Technical

Srinivasa Reddy Kandi: Mobile vibe-coding apps struggle to find traction despite rising AI adoption

September, 24, 2025-04:20

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Mobile vibe-coding apps struggle to find traction despite rising AI adoption

AI-powered “vibe coding” has fueled the rise of multiple billion-dollar startups, but one corner of the market hasn’t clicked yet: mobile. Despite a flood of apps bringing vibe-coding tools to smartphones, downloads remain negligible, and revenue is almost nonexistent.

Data from app analytics provider Appfigures shows just how limited the adoption has been. The most popular offering, Instance: AI App Builder, has managed only 16,000 downloads and around $1,000 in consumer spending. The runner-up, Vibe Studio, has pulled in 4,000 downloads but hasn’t generated any revenue at all.

The market is still young, though. Developers continue to iterate, and new players are entering. One notable entrant this year is Vibe code, a startup that raised $9.4 million in seed funding from Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six. Its iOS app lets users build mobile applications directly with AI, though it’s too new for App figures to have usage data.

For now, most vibe-coding activity is still happening on desktop. On mobile, the technology is having more impact behind the scenes—powering features in other apps rather than attracting users to dedicated vibe-coding tools.

For example, subscription platform provider Revenue Cat—used by more than 50,000 apps—says it now processes payments for over half of all AI-built iOS apps on the market. The company told TechCrunch that apps signing up via referrals from AI assistants or platforms surged to 35% of new accounts in Q2 2025, up from under 5% a year earlier. Through its MCP server, Revenue Cat also helps vibe coders automate subscription setup and testing across tools like Cursor and Claude Code.

Still, challenges remain. Developers working with AI-generated code say the tools are far from production-ready, often requiring significant fixes. A Fastly survey of nearly 800 developers found that 95% spent extra time correcting AI-generated output.

Yet, demand continues to climb. A 2025 Stack Overflow survey showed that 84% of developers are now using or planning to use AI tools, up from 76% in 2024. A poll by The Information found that 75% of respondents had tried vibe coding, while a Jellyfish study reported 90% of developers had integrated AI into their workflows—up sharply from 61% last year.

For mobile vibe-coding apps, it’s still early days. But with adoption rates rising and new players like Vibecode entering the field, the race to make AI-native app building mainstream on phones is far from over.

Author: Kandi Srinivasa Reddy, Srinivasa Reddy Kandi, #KandiSrinivasaReddy, #SrinivasaReddyKandi