With the recent launch of tools like OpenAI’s Codex, Anthropic’s Claude Agent, and the upcoming support for these tools right in Xcode, the single-purpose app market may not be long for this world. Here’s why.
Despite my best on and off over the last two decades, every time I decided to learn to code, it was a non-starter.
I understand the concepts well enough, but I’ve never been able to turn actual programming into the kind of fun challenge that developers seem to enjoy. It’s always been an endlessly frustrating experience for me.
This is why I am following the development of low-code, no-code, and AI-powered programming tools very closely. And I’ll be the first to say that they all kind of screwed up.
Lately, as I’ve seen more and more of my developer (and non-developer, but tech-loving) friends get excited about what they’ve accomplished with newly released tools and coding models, I decided to give them a shot. And I’m glad I did.
Codex developed my app in 15 minutes and I can’t get over it
For the past few weeks I’ve been using OpenAI’s Codex to build a small Mac app just for myself to solve a very specific productivity need I’ve always had.
In fact, Codex got the app’s basic functionality up and running in less than 15 minutes, starting with a single empty folder on my Mac. Since then, I’ve been asking it to add a button here, tap Apple’s core models there, notify me if X or Y happens, and so on.
Are there Mac or even iOS apps that can do the basic functions of what Codex has done for me? Definitely. I have tried some of them. The free ones are filled to the brim with intrusive low-quality ads and don’t really work. The paid ones, even if they work, don’t behave exactly as I wish them.
My Codex developed app on the other hand works exactly how i wish And if I don’t like something or come up with something new, just ask the Codex to edit it. After about 10 seconds it’s done.
Does this mean I can build a Fortune 500 company just using Codex or any other AI powered tool? definitely not. At least, not yet. It probably doesn’t even mean my app is ready for public release. But it works for meand that’s all i needed.
It’s still early days, but a major change is coming
My broader point is this: as these tools improve in coding and adoption grows, I’m convinced that the days of poorly built, ad-filled, single-purpose apps are inevitably numbered.
Unfortunately, I’d venture that this also means that indie developers who focus on making good, well-made, single-purpose apps will end up at risk. Lower risk, sure, but still.
Currently, only a fraction of tech-savvy users know that tools like Codex exist. Fewer are willing to try them. Fewer and fewer people will know how to harness the power of agent models through Xcode 26.4.
Still, as companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Apple continue to improve their development tools and further abstract away the underlying programming languages (which, of course, will remain valuable), we’re not far from a world where building your own single-purpose app will feel as mundane as asking ChatGPT a random question (and far less subtle than trying to pull it off with shortcuts).
On the other hand, is there a chance that the App Store will soon be flooded with even more low-quality, single-purpose, ad-laden apps? Absolutely.
But I think this may just end up accelerating the move towards vibration coding of custom solutions, although it will certainly be interesting to see how Apple responds to removing the barrier to creating and releasing apps going forward.
Have you used these tools to develop your own apps? Let us know in the comments.
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