It seems the honeymoon—if it ever existed—between developers and Apple has ended for good. The confrontations are no longer confined to closed rooms or cold review correspondence; they have escalated into public accusations of blatant lying. Amjad Masad, the mastermind behind the famous AI-powered programming platform Replit, has finally decided to take the gloves off against Apple, describing its justifications for banning his app from the App Store as a “total lie” and confirming that he is fully prepared to drag Apple into court to prove it.
The “Post-Approval Code” battle and the threat of litigation
During his talk at TechCrunch’s StrictlyVC event in San Francisco, Amjad Masad did not hesitate to describe Apple’s position as a false claim. Apple alleges that the Replit app violates rules by downloading new code after it has been approved—a classic excuse Cupertino uses to maintain absolute control. Masad responded sharply, stating that this claim is a pure lie and that he has the evidence to prove its falsity before a judge.
What is interesting is the “strategic ambiguity” practiced by Apple; Masad confirmed that his company has submitted updated versions repeatedly over the past months, but has not received any clear responses or specific feedback during the review process. This type of obstructionism brings to mind similar incidents faced by other startups, such as those that recently sued Apple for withholding their revenue or enforcing rules in an arbitrary and inconsistent manner.
Is Apple afraid of “programming via phone”?
Masad suspects that the real reason behind this ban is not “post-approval code,” but rather the revolutionary feature Replit introduced last December, which allows users to build and deploy full iOS applications directly from their phones. This move strikes at the heart of the traditional development environment that Apple insists on restricting to Mac devices and Xcode.
Statistics released at the time showed massive growth in the number of applications being created via Replit, which seems to have sparked Apple’s concern about losing control over how software is made for its system. Nevertheless, Masad showed surprising flexibility; he mentioned that he prefers cooperation and is even willing to guide developers toward using Xcode if that would resolve the deadlock, but he will not accept slander.
Financial strength makes Replit unafraid of confrontation
Unlike startups that might collapse under Apple’s pressure, Replit stands on very solid ground. The company has seen a stunning jump in its revenue, moving from $2.8 million in 2024 to an annual revenue run rate heading toward $1 billion. More importantly, 85% of Fortune 500 companies currently use its platform.
This financial stability gives Masad the luxury of refusing any acquisition and remaining independent, comparing his company’s situation to competitors like Cursor, which suffers from negative profit margins while looking for a massive acquisition deal from SpaceX. Masad believes that Replit offers a full-stack system that provides higher security, as applications run in isolated environments on Google Cloud, making it the preferred choice for IT teams in major corporations.
AI and the future of software building
Replit relies for its programming power on a mix of AI models. Masad praised Anthropic’s models as the current leader in tool calling, and also commended the cost-efficiency of Google’s models, noting that OpenAI’s GPT models are catching up quickly. The beauty here is the immense value customers receive; some are generating millions of dollars in value against modest monthly AI budgets.
The platform’s ambitions do not stop there; Replit is considering investing and acquiring stakes in startups built entirely on top of its platform. This means the platform is gradually transforming from just a “code editor” into a complete ecosystem that births new companies every day, which might be the true nightmare for a company like Apple that wants all roads to start and end with it.
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