Background
Back to Blog
Development
July 19, 2025
11 minutes read

Vibe Coding: Game-Changing Innovation or Temporary Hype?

V

VibeCode Team

Author

Vibe Coding: Game-Changing Innovation or Temporary Hype?

At VibeCode, we've transformed this vision into reality with our AI App Builder platform that lets anyone create fully functional applications using natural language.

Software is changing quite quickly. A few years ago, if you wanted to make an app, you had to write every line of code yourself, hire expensive developers, or spend months learning how to code. AI App Builders are so powerful that you can construct a fully working app only by saying what you want.

This change is rather big. It enables everyone construct software, not only developers, speeds up the whole process, and makes it easier than ever to come up with new ideas. Are AI App Builders the future, or are they just a fad?

TL;DR

VibeCode and other AI App Builders allow you to make apps by telling them what you want in simple English. The technology is based on improvements in natural language processing and conversational AI.

It speeds up development from months to hours, but others are still worried about how easy it is to customize and how dependent it is on the platform.

Modern AI app makers are fixing these problems by making AI-generated code more dependable, adaptable, and suitable for use in production.

vibe coding
vibe coding

The Growth of AI App Makers

The same technology advances that led to ChatGPT and improved language models also led to the idea of AI App Builders. Researchers figured out that AI could grasp and create human language, thus it could also understand software needs and write code that works.

It's a big change from how apps used to be made, when you had to type each line by hand, employ development teams, or spend years learning how to code. With AI models trained to grasp software needs, on the other hand, anyone may focus on concepts and logic instead of syntax and technical implementation.

Where Vibe Coding Came From
Andrej Karpathy originally talked about vibe coding in a tweet. He said it was a method to develop software by just saying what you want in simple English and letting AI handle the coding.

vibe code
vibe code


It is a big change from traditional coding, where you have to write each line by hand. Instead, developers (and even non-developers) can focus more on concepts and logic than syntax when they use AI models that have been trained to grasp software requirements.

What is an AI app builder?

An AI App Builder lets you make software without having to worry about programming. Users don't have to write hundreds of lines of code by hand. Instead, they just say what they want in normal language, and AI makes the software they need.

You could say, "Make a customer dashboard where I can track leads, manage contacts, and see sales analytics with charts," instead of spending weeks constructing a customer management system (something that typically takes our VibeCode users just 30-45 minutes)

The AI App Maker would then make the whole app, including the user interface and analytics. It would be ready to use.

How AI App Makers Work

Here's the behind-the-scenes process:

  1. Tell me what you want: Type in what you require in simple English.
  2. AI figures out what you want— The system knows what you want and makes preparations for the technological architecture.
  3. Code generation happens right away
  4. You make it better— Make modest changes, personalize the details, or change how it works.
  5. Test and iterate—AI recommends ways to make things better and helps you fix problems as they happen.

Real Case Study: AI App Builder Made a Copy of a $80 Million App in 47 Minutes

This isn't just a theory. The VibeCode team just shown that AI can copy software worth millions of dollars in less than an hour. The whole thing was streamed on Twitter, and the findings will revolutionize how you think about making apps.

The Challenge of $80 Million

VibeCode set its sights on "CleanUp," a photo storage program that is very popular right now:

  • $7 million in sales every month
  • $84 million every year
  • More than 50 million active users
  • The number one productivity app on several app stores

What is their mission? Use AI to make a full copy of it and get it approved on the Apple App Store. One sitting time restriction.

The outcome: They finished in 47 minutes.

The Process of Making an AI App (Minute by Minute)

Minutes 0–3: The Setup

To get started with VibeCode, just give it one easy command: "Find the CleanUp app and make it all over again. Import all of my pictures."

No code. No developers. Just plain English.

Minutes 3–27: Core Features Made

See how AI made:

  • Access to your own images (1,000+ photos imported right away)
  • AI that finds duplicates (discovered 251 duplicates, saving 7.9GB)
  • The ability to really delete (really eliminates photos from the device)
  • Smart sorting (blurry, big files, screenshots)

Minutes 27–42: More Advanced Features

The AI incorporated advanced features:

  • An interface like Tinder's, where you swipe left to delete and right to keep
  • System for deleting several items at once with a safe garbage bin
  • Animations that are smooth and work like they do on iOS
  • Custom branding and professional UI design

Minutes 42–47: Putting the App in the Store

  • Made the app icon with ChatGPT
  • Made the splash screen and brand
  • Made a landing page (PhotoMonkey.app) and sent it to the Apple App Store

The Results That Show How AI Has Changed Everything

Results by Day:

  • Day 1: App sent to TestFlight
  • Day 3: APPROVED and now available on the Apple App Store as "PhotoMonkey"
  • Current status: Thousands of downloads and counting

What This Means:

  • Building an app the old-fashioned way: takes 6 to 12 months and costs $100,000 to $500,000
  • Building an app using AI: takes 47 minutes and costs almost nothing
  • Success rate: 100% of apps are approved on the first try
ai app builder
ai app builder

The Easy Commands That Made a Million-Dollar App

They used basic English instead of writing millions of lines of code:

"Fix the delete animation" : Debugging right away
"Add a swipe interface like Tinder" : A complicated gesture system
"Make images show full aspect ratio" : Advanced image processing
"Add trash bin for batch deletion" : Complete workflow overhaul

We talked about each bug and fixed it right away. Too few photos? It went from 1,000 to 30,000 images with just one statement.

Why This Changes Everything for Business Owners

Before AI App Builders:

  • Hire developers who charge a lot of money ($150/hour minimum)
  • Study coding for months or years
  • The project could fail because of how hard it is to do technically
  • It could take months to finish the MVP

After AI App Builders:

  • Write down your idea in simple terms
  • Make an app that works in less than an hour
  • Test and improve right away
  • Release it on the App Store the same day

How This Breakthrough Will Affect the Economy

This team just shown that anyone can now compete with apps that cost millions of dollars using only conversational AI.

The numbers are shocking:

  • CleanUp costs $400 per year for more features
  • PhotoMonkey gives you the same functionality for free
  • Cost of development: $500,000 vs. $0
  • Time difference: 12 months vs. 47 minutes

This isn't merely faster development. This is the full opening up of app creation to everyone.

Things You Can Make Right Now Without Coding

This case study shows that AI can make:

  • E-commerce apps that can handle payments
  • Social media sites that let you send messages in real time
  • Advanced features for productivity tools
  • Business apps that let you make your own workflows
  • Games with complicated rules
  • SaaS solutions that charge by the month

Your imagination is the only thing that can stop you.

The Future Is Here Now

This case study shows that we've reached an important point. We are not looking at the future of app development if a team can make a $80 million app in 47 minutes just by talking.

We're looking at now.

The question isn't if AI will transform how apps are made. It has already. The question is: What will you do with your new superpower?

Want to use AI to make your own app? The VibeCode platform that was used in this project is now accessible. You don't need to know how to code.

Why AI App Builders Change the Game Show

AI App Builders don't only make things faster; they revolutionize the way software is made. Here's why:

Makes it easier to make apps: Entrepreneurs who aren't good at coding may now make working apps without having to learn how to code for years.

A huge boost to development speed: Cuts down on the time it takes to do repetitive coding activities from months to hours. Great for quickly making prototypes. Good for new businesses who need to test concepts fast and affordably

Gets rid of technological problems: Instead of learning programming languages, focus on fixing things.

Scaling that doesn't cost a lot of money, Make several versions of the app so you may try out different ideas without spending a lot of money.

vibecode ai
vibecode ai

Some people do say that apps made by AI might not be as customizable as those made by hand. VibeCode is fixing this by adding comprehensive customization choices, the ability to export code, and the ability to operate with standard development workflows without any problems everything on your phone.

What you can really make today

You might be surprised by what AI App Builders can do these days. This is what you can do right now:

Business Uses

  • Full CRM solutions that keep track of leads and sales pipelines
  • Inventory management systems that can scan barcodes
  • Employee portals that let you keep track of time and manage projects
  • Tools for making custom invoices and keeping track of money

Applications for Consumers

  • Social media sites that let you send messages in real time
  • Online retailers that can take payments
  • Online learning platforms featuring quizzes and video courses

Tools for specific tasks

  • Dashboards for data visualization that pull from several APIs
  • Systems that automate workflows and link diverse services
  • Advanced analytics and custom reporting tools
  • SaaS apps with several tenants and subscription billing

How to Get Started with AI App Builders

Are you ready to make your first app that uses AI? Here's the plan:

Step 1: Keep it Simple

Pick a small initial project, like a note-taking app, a basic corporate application, or a simple content manager.

Step 2: Be Clear

The better your results will be if you give more details. Instead of saying, "make a social app," say, "make a book club platform where members can suggest books, vote on monthly picks, and talk about chapters with threaded comments."

Step 3: Accept Iteration

Use AI's speed to your advantage. Build, test, and make things better quickly. Iteration doesn't cost anything.

Step 4: Learn the Language

There are good things with each AI App Builder. Take the time to learn how to talk to people on the platform you picked.

We address your concerns..

"What is the quality of the code like?" VibeCode makes code that is clean and well-organized, and it often does a better job of following best practices than people who are in a hurry to finish a project.

"How about making it your own?" AI-generated apps start with basic patterns, but VibeCode lets you customize them a lot and export the code so you can keep working on them.

"What about being locked into a vendor?" A lot of AI app makers now allow you export your code, which means you can take your app and keep working on it somewhere else if you need to.

The Effect on the Economy

AI app builders are opening up new ways to make money:

Democratized entrepreneurship: Now, anyone with a decent idea can create and test it without needing technical co-founders or a lot of money.

Quickly making business tools—Businesses can make their own tools in only a few hours instead of having to wait months for IT help.

New consulting models: Technical specialists are moving from producing code to designing solutions and helping with AI implementations.

Global accessibility: Entrepreneurs in areas without big development communities can now compete on a global scale.

AI App Builders are more than just a buzzword; they are changing the way we make software for good. AI isn't taking the place of developers; it's making it feasible for more people to be developers and produce more things.

This means that entrepreneurs may test their ideas more quickly and have fewer obstacles to starting a business. For businesses, it means getting custom solutions without having to pay for custom development. For people, it means being able to make exactly what they want.

The question isn't if AI App Makers will transform how software is made; they already are. The question is: What will you do with your new power?

Want to try vibe coding for yourself? Check out VibeCode and start building today.