The world of app development is undergoing a revolutionary shift, and it's not just the tech-savvy developers who are leading the charge. Prepare to be amazed as we delve into the rise of 'micro' apps and how non-developers are embracing their inner creators!
Rebecca Yu, a determined individual, spent seven days crafting her dining app, a solution to the age-old problem of group chat indecisiveness. With the power of AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT, she embarked on a journey to build an app that would recommend restaurants based on shared interests.
"The emergence of vibe-coding apps has inspired many non-techies to build their own apps," Yu shared with TechCrunch. And so, Where2Eat was born, a web app designed to simplify the dining decision-making process for her and her friends.
Yu is part of a growing community of individuals who, thanks to rapid advancements in AI technology, are now capable of building their own personalized apps. Most are coding web applications, but an increasing number are also vibe-coding mobile apps tailored to their personal devices. Some, already registered as Apple developers, keep their personal apps in beta on TestFlight.
This new era of app creation has been dubbed 'micro apps,' 'personal apps,' or even 'fleeting apps,' reflecting their intended use by the creator and a select few others, with no plans for wide distribution or sale.
For instance, Jordi Amat, a founder, created a fleeting web gaming app for his family's holiday entertainment, shutting it down once the vacation ended.
But it's not just founders and artists who are getting in on the action. Shamillah Bankiya, a partner at Dawn Capital, is building a podcast translation web app for personal use, while Darrell Etherington, a former TechCrunch writer and now vice president at SBS Comms, is doing the same.
"A lot of people are using Claude Code, Replit, Bolt, and Lovable to build apps for specific use cases," Etherington noted.
Even professional developers are joining the vibe-coding trend, like software engineer James Waugh, who built a web app planning tool to enhance his cooking hobby.
The rise of micro apps is a result of the accessibility of tools like Claude Code and Lovable, which allow individuals to create functional apps without extensive coding knowledge.
"It's similar to how trends on social media appear and then fade away, but now, it's software itself," explained Legand L. Burge III, a professor of computer science at Howard University.
Yu, inspired by her dining app success, now has six more app ideas she wants to bring to life.
"It's an exciting time to be alive," she said.
While web app creation has always been accessible through no-code platforms like Bubble and Adalo, the ability to create personal, temporary apps for mobile devices is a relatively new phenomenon.
Mobile micro apps still require more effort than their web counterparts, as the standard way to load an app on an iPhone is through the App Store, which necessitates a paid Apple Developer account. However, mobile vibe-coding startups like Anything and VibeCode are emerging to simplify the process.
Christina Melas-Kyriazi, a partner at Bain Capital Ventures, likened this era of app building to the rise of social media and Shopify, where content creation and online stores became accessible to all.
Despite the excitement, micro apps come with their own set of challenges. Building an app can still be tedious, and personal apps may have bugs or security flaws, making them unsuitable for mass distribution.
However, as AI and model reasoning advance, the potential for personal app building is immense.
Waugh, the software engineer, shared a story about building an app for a friend with heart palpitations, a logger to help her record and track her heart issues for her doctor.
"It's a great example of a one-off personal software that provides a valuable service," he said.
Nick Simpson, another founder, built an app to automatically pay parking tickets, a common issue in San Francisco. His app, in beta on TestFlight, has gained popularity among his friends.
Burge III believes these apps open up "exhilarating opportunities" for businesses and creators to offer hyper-personalized experiences. Etherington agrees, predicting a future where people build their own apps instead of subscribing to monthly fees.
Melas-Kyriazi expects personal, fleeting apps to fill the gap between spreadsheets and full-fledged products, offering a more tailored solution.
Hollie Krause, a media strategist, took matters into her own hands when she didn't like the apps her doctor recommended. She built a web app to track her allergies, finishing it in the time it took her husband to go out for dinner.
"Vibe coding has the potential to bring innovation and problem-solving to communities that might not otherwise have access," Krause said. She hopes to beta-test her allergy health app and release it to help others.
"I truly believe vibe coding means I can make a difference and help people," she added.
So, what do you think? Are micro apps the future of personalized experiences? Will we all become app developers in this new era? Join the discussion and share your thoughts in the comments!
