It seems the honeymoon—if it ever truly existed—between developers and Apple is over for good. Confrontations are no longer confined to closed-door meetings or cold, curt exchanges; they've escalated to public accusations of outright lying. Amjad Masad, the mastermind behind the popular AI-powered programming platform Replit, has finally taken the gloves off with Apple, describing its justifications for removing his app from the App Store as a "complete lie" and asserting his readiness to take Apple to court to prove it.
The "post-approval code" battle and the threat of elimination
Speaking at TechCrunch's StrictlyVC event in San Francisco, Amjad Massad didn't hesitate to call Apple's position a false claim. Apple alleges that Replit violates its policies by downloading new code after approval, a classic excuse Cupertino uses to maintain absolute control. Massad responded sharply, stating that this claim is a complete fabrication and that he has evidence to prove it false before a judge.
What's striking is Apple's "strategic ambiguity." Masad confirmed that his company submitted updated versions repeatedly over the past few months, but received no clear responses or specific feedback during the review process. This kind of obstruction is reminiscent of similar incidents faced by other startups, such as those that recently sued Apple for withholding revenue or arbitrarily and inconsistently enforcing regulations.
Is Apple afraid of "programming via phone"?
Mosaad suspects the real reason behind the ban isn't the "post-approval code," but rather the revolutionary feature Replit introduced last December, which allows users to build and publish full iOS apps directly from their phones. This move strikes a fatal blow to the traditional development environment that Apple insists on confining to Macs and Xcode.
Statistics circulating at the time showed a dramatic increase in the number of apps created using Replit, which apparently worried Apple about losing control over how software was developed for its platform. However, Massad displayed a surprising flexibility, stating that he preferred collaboration and was even willing to guide developers toward using Xcode if it would resolve the issue, but he would not tolerate slander.
Financial strength makes Replit unafraid of confrontation.
Unlike startups that might crumble under pressure from Apple, Replit stands on very solid ground. The company has seen a remarkable surge in revenue, jumping from $2.8 million in 2024 to an annual revenue rate approaching $1 billion. More importantly, 85% of Fortune 500 companies now use its platform.
This financial stability gives Massad the luxury of rejecting any acquisition and remaining independent, contrasting his company's situation with that of competitors like Cursor, which is suffering from negative profit margins while pursuing a massive acquisition deal with SpaceX. Massad believes Replit offers a full-stack system that provides enhanced security, with applications running in isolated environments on the Google cloud, making it the preferred choice for IT teams at large companies.
Artificial intelligence and the future of software development
Replit's software power relies on a mix of AI models. Masoud praised Anthropic's models as a current leader in tool calling and commended Google's cost-effectiveness, noting that OpenAI's GPT models are quickly catching up. The real appeal lies in the immense value customers are getting; some are generating millions of dollars in value with modest monthly AI budgets.
The platform's ambitions don't stop there; Replit is considering investing in and acquiring stakes in startups built entirely on its platform. This means the platform is gradually transforming from a mere "code editor" into a complete ecosystem that spawns new companies every day—a truly nightmare scenario for a company like Apple, which wants to start and finish every road.
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