Age of the App Clones: Can vibe coders & code platform users erode market share of well-known businesses?
As new LLM models come out almost on a weekly basis, vibe coding tools are becoming stronger in delivering on their promise to let everybody create apps that actually work and add value. Value to either individuals, small groups, visitors, prosumers or even business users looking for solutions. And when you look at Claude Code , Openai Codex or Cursor, it really comes apparent that code is just a click away.
As a non-developer, I’ve took upon the challenge of testing a lot of platforms (Replit, Base44, Lovable, Bolt, and any other contestant trying to reach for the crown) that let you make ‘real’ apps/products/websites. Conclusion: these platforms are becoming a lot stronger in delivering real value, beyond the initial surprise effect that you get with your badly written one shot prompt.
So are we evolving to the Age of App Clones? Are there already creators nibbling away market share from the big incumbents? Or more likely, are we nibbling away from the smaller players, with less of a network effect, historically relying on ‘complex’ functionality and an established brand?
I’ve created a new reflex where every time I hear my wife, family, friends, clients or colleagues mention anything about a certain ‘app we should use’ or ‘wouldn’t it be nice if … ‘, I immediately feel challenged to find out if I would be able to do it myself, fast, efficient and even pretty reliable. And that says something coming from a person that, swear on my children, can’t code at all.
But I do know a thing or 2 about architecture, design, product experiences, … and remarkable enough, that has kickstarted my (vibe) coding career quite a bit! Add some creative prompting (either in text or with the use of quickly prototyped designs), some patience, sensitivity to iterative gains, .. and yes, you start to go places.
I am definitely not the only one saying this. And I am fully aware that build-in scalability and security, the buzzword ‘taste’ and any other crucial ingredient for what then could become the next Snapcat, Instaram, Phasebook, … is not (yet) a given with these vibe coding platforms. But that is absolutely not the point. Look at what it already can do, in only a few years of evolving.
I’ve been building ‘digital dices’, ‘secret santa’, a Splitwise-clone, full blown websites, several integrated prototypes, simple project management tools, campaigns with payment options, QR generator app, … . And what does that mean?
- I am not using other software to do it
- So I am not supporting others historically proven working business models
- I am becoming more self-sufficient and self-reliable
- I’m retracting other users from using established apps
Fast forward 5 years and maybe what you’ll get are ‘ephimerical’ apps, one prompt away, throw away apps, one prompters, only ment to live as long as you, your intimate group, that business user, is in the market for it.