-Replit Now Lets You Vibe Code iOS Apps

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, wich “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 obvious, 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.