Anything’s fight with Apple is turning into a case study in what happens when AI app-building tools run headfirst into the App Store rulebook.
The startup’s app was removed from the App Store twice after Apple cited Guideline 2.5.2, the long-standing policy that restricts apps from downloading, installing, or executing code that changes how an app works. That matters because Anything’s whole pitch was simple: type what you want in natural language, and the app generates a working mobile app for you.
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A compact desktop option for developers who now need a computer-based workflow instead of building directly from an iPhone. It fits the shift Anything is making toward desktop-based app creation.
Check Price on AmazonThat ruling did not just block a feature. It broke the product’s original promise. Anything had been positioned as a mobile-first “vibe coding” app, the kind of tool meant to make app creation feel as easy as chatting with an AI assistant on your phone.
Now the company is moving in a different direction. Instead of trying to generate and run app-building workflows on iOS, Anything says it is building a desktop companion app that lets users create mobile apps from a Mac or PC.
That is a practical workaround, but it is also a much less magical one. The appeal of mobile-first AI coding was that it lowered the barrier to entry. Requiring a desktop setup brings the experience closer to traditional software development, even if the interface stays conversational.
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A practical add-on for laptop-based development setups, especially for users connecting external displays, storage, or SD cards. It complements the kind of desktop workflow Anything is now pursuing.
Check Price on AmazonApple’s position here is not new, but AI tools are exposing how hard it is to apply older platform rules to new software behavior. In Apple’s view, code that changes an app’s functionality is still code execution, even when that code is being generated on demand by AI instead of downloaded in a more traditional way.
Anything is not alone in that squeeze. Other AI coding tools have also run into App Store friction, which suggests this is becoming a broader policy issue rather than a one-off review dispute. The bigger question is whether Apple will eventually carve out more room for AI-assisted developer tools, or keep enforcing existing rules as written.
For Anything, the desktop pivot keeps the company alive, but it also drops it into a much more crowded market. On desktop, it is no longer competing as the app builder in your pocket. It is competing with a growing field of AI coding products that already live on laptops and desktops.