Vibe-coding app Anything was removed from the App Store twice — now it's building a desktop companion

Startup Anything, which creates mobile applications through dialogue with AI, has been removed from the App Store twice. The team didn't shut down — they announced a desktop companion for Mac and Windows that will continue helping users create iOS products without needing to know programming.

When vibe-coding meets Apple

"Vibe-coding" is a term describing development where a person explains a task in words, and AI writes the code. Cursor, Bolt, Lovable, and dozens of other tools have already made this the norm for web development: anyone can create a website or web application in minutes without a single line of code. Anything aimed at a significantly more closed niche — native iOS applications.

This is a different scale of problem: mobile development for Apple requires compliance with strict technical rules, and the App Store ecosystem is controlled much more tightly than the open internet. Apple shaped App Store rules with a focus on security and preventing malware. No one anticipated the emergence of generative AI tools capable of creating full-fledged applications in real time when these Guidelines were created.

This gave birth to the conflict between new technologies and outdated rules.

Twice expelled from App Store

App Store Guideline 2.5.2 directly prohibits applications from downloading and executing code that hasn't passed Apple's review. The rule has existed for a long time — and effectively blocks any attempt to dynamically generate executable code on the user's side. Anything found itself on the wrong side of this prohibition twice:

• First removal — the product violated runtime code requirements
• Architecture redesign — the team changed the mechanics to comply with the rules
• Second removal — Apple again recognized the version as violating Guidelines
• Current status — the application is unavailable in the App Store

Two consecutive removals — this is no longer a misunderstanding, but systemic incompatibility. Anything is not the first in this conflict: several other AI development tools have already faced similar restrictions from platforms.

Desktop as a working solution

The desktop companion operates outside the App Store's perimeter: Mac and Windows applications are not subject to Apple's rules about what is permitted within the iOS ecosystem. On a computer, Anything will be able to freely generate code, compile projects, and prepare them for publication — and the assembled application will pass Apple's standard review as a regular binary. This is exactly how all traditional mobile development tools work: Xcode, Flutter, React Native.

Anything's key difference — remove the need to understand programming from this chain. Users describe their idea, and the desktop client generates and builds the application. The competitive context is important: other startups operate in the same segment, and the question of how to build a sustainable model given App Store limitations is relevant to the entire vibe-coding niche for mobile platforms.

What does this mean

The Anything story clearly demonstrates where the line runs between AI innovation and platform control. Rules written in the pre-AI era continue to determine what's possible within the iOS ecosystem. A desktop companion is a pragmatic way to continue working without waiting for Apple to update its Guidelines. If the model proves to be in demand, it could become a standard approach for the entire segment.