AI coding tools like Claude Opus 4.5 have triggered a crisis in Apple's App Store review process. Developers are reporting wait times of 3-7 days for app approvals, compared to the traditional 24-hour turnaround. This surge stems from 'vibe coding,' where AI generates nearly functional apps without human programming.

Apple's human review system, once manageable with a handful of reviewers, now faces overwhelming demand. Established developers and major companies like Twitter are experiencing significant delays, while indie developers flood the queue with AI-generated submissions. The traditional bottleneck of manual coding has vanished, allowing anyone to create and submit apps.

Industry insiders suggest two potential solutions: automated reviews for app updates or priority queues for established developers. Apple's former executive Phil Schiller championed keeping human review, but the current backlog may force a shift. The company might need to hire substantially more reviewers or fundamentally change its review process to handle the AI coding boom. For now, the App Store's human review system appears unsustainable.