The surge of AI-generated apps is overwhelming Apple’s app review process, leaving developers caught in the crossfire – two examples among many.
A flood of new iOS apps has emerged over the last few months. An estimated 10–20 new iOS music apps enter the market every day. This is because AI now makes it possible for anyone to vibe code their own apps and AUv3 plugins.
However, getting an app into the Apple App Store requires going through the app review process. AI has affected not only the number of new releases per day but also Apple’s holy app review process, creating more nightmares than joy for many developers.
What Is The Apple App Review Process?
Developing and releasing a VST plugin is simple. You set up a website, upload your installers, set a price, and you’re good to go. It’s more complicated on iOS.
To publish an app, you must first join the Apple Developer Program, which costs $99 per year. As a member, you can submit apps with AUv3 support, but they won’t become available immediately.
Whether they are hand-coded or created with the help of AI, all apps must go through Apple’s review process. Every app, whether a synthesizer, effects, game, or utility app, must first get through this barrier.
This process verifies that the app meets requirements, including security standards. That’s a major advantage over many new, freely available VST plugins . You can be confident that everything you download to your iOS or macOS device has been checked and is free of anything suspicious.
So far, the process from submission to release has taken 24 to 48 hours, and sometimes a few days. Developers say the typical review takes a day or two. Apple’s own App Review guidelines state:
App Review works around the clock, typically reviewing at least 50% of submissions in less than 24 hours and 90% in less than 48 hours.”
AI And The Impact Of The Apple App Review Process
24-48 days or a few days! That’s what most developers are currently dreaming of. The Apple App Review process is currently on the verge of collapsing due to the flood of new iOS apps (AI or not), or even hallucinating, if you ask iOS developers.
Various developers, including AudioThing, Igor Vasiliev, Sugar Bytes, and others, say their new apps have been stuck in App Review for weeks rather than days, with no updates. As a result, many releases focused on cross-platform compatibility are currently struggling.
Take Pittsburgh Modular, for example: their new Microvolt 3901 synth was released as a VST on October 27th, while the iOS version only arrived today, November 12th. However, they planned a simultaneous release.
Igor Vasiliev‘s new HollowTone app (go check out that brilliant app!) also spent weeks stuck in the review process. Most developers can handle a few delays, provided the app is good and ultimately gets purchased.
The problem arises when the app review process becomes erratic—or stops accepting the app altogether—even though it’s just another synth. Some developers have reported this.
Unfiltered Audio Sinusoidal Run Rhythm
Unfiltered Audio—which offers a range of high-quality AUv3 plugins in the App Store, including the brilliant Battalion drum machine—had trouble bringing its Sinusoidal Run Rhythm to market.
Michael Hetrick of Unfiltered Audio, who’s been in the iOS game for years, wrote on the Loopy Pro forum:
Apple seems to be using AI for automated App Store reviews. SRR got rejected 4 times. The first time, they asked for a video of me demonstrating it (which almost always happens with our plugins).
The second time, the editor hallucinated that “Polyharmonic” was an audio technology that we needed to show a documented license for to use the term in the description. The third time, it asked for a video again, this time with the app connected to the “required proprietary hardware”. The fourth time, it flagged SRR MIDI as spam because of its similarity to SRR.
It was over a month of back-and-forth, so I threw my hands up and released it audio-only for now. What we will do is bundle the MIDI build into the binary so both AUv3s install.
The app is now available, but only in the audio version. The MIDI version is still not out.
The second example shows that this new Apple app review process AI reality can also lead to app developers losing their livelihood—especially those who have spent months coding their apps.
The CRUX Synth Problem
Marek Dendes is a new developer who is currently caught in this precarious situation. He has been working for several months on a flagship Synthesizer called CRUX Synth—a sort of “Serum 2” for iOS.
I’ve been testing the beta for a few weeks now, and it truly is a flagship product. At the moment, it seems the synthesizer won’t be released, as the app has been rejected multiple times by Apple’s App Review process.
He wrote in the Loopy Pro forum:
My app was REJECTED from submission FOUR TIMES in row. Always same reason (eg. my app is “design spam” and “duplicates existing apps” and it is createed using “app generation template services”) as shown bellow in screenshots. Which is obvious nonsense.
I replied on every rejection – no change, again rejected. Obviously nobody reads my explanations. Thing is it goes from “Waiting for Review” into “In Review” and then instantly in second to “Rejected” so this is some automated process and nobody even reads anything i write – so it’s a bit dead end.
I submitted multiple appeals to the App Review Board – that did not help, did not get any reply (it’s about 5 days since first appeal submit). Tried also to submit only CRUX without effects to avoid multiple apps submitted at once – same result. There is nothing more i can do.
I reached out to my contacts at Apple, but I didn’t get any real help from them regarding this case.
My Two Cents (Opinion)
iOS/iPadOS is a fantastic platform for making music on the go. It’s been part of my musical toolkit from the start, and for more than six years, it’s also played an integral role in my hybrid live performance setup.
If you need to submit an app now for release before year’s end, that’s genuinely problematic: you could wait three weeks only to have it rejected. I’m in daily contact with iOS developers.
Many have lost their former euphoria; instead, they express disillusionment and doubt that things will ever be the same. Developers are frustrated by lengthy release delays—and remember, not all submissions are music apps.
With so many new apps launching, even great ones get lost. Do you remember what was published two days ago? This reflects a problem Apple created years ago: ending its affiliate program left media outlets unable to cover iOS meaningfully.
That’s why I’m on Patreon. Today, written coverage of iOS music apps is rare unless they’re backed by major names like Roland, Korg, or Moog.
The iOS market is currently off-kilter—not just because of the flood of AI apps, but also because of Apple itself. Where is the real Apple Intelligence when you actually need it?
If they don’t get a handle on this and start reaching out to iOS developers in person again, as they did early on, I can see the market entering a strange period.
Hey Claude, take me back to the App Store era of 2022. Right now!
More information here: Apple
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