As AI agents and vibe-coding apps gain traction, a broader debate is unfolding across the tech industry over what they could mean for the future of traditional apps and software tools, with some in Silicon Valley arguing that it could eventually push users away from apps altogether. A growing number of companies are even exploring devices built around AI agents over applications. That vision could be in contrast to the billion-dollar app economy championed by the likes of Apple, whose iPhone continues to heavily rely on third-party apps and the ecosystem of developers behind them. This is the context in which WWDC 2026, Apple’s annual developer conference, is coming up next month (June 8-12). To get a sense of what app developers themselves make of all this, The Indian Express spoke with a handful of iOS platform engineers and indie creators at the Apple Developer Centre in Bengaluru last week. Some of them have spent years building for the platform.…