TechCrunch – Page 2

The App Store is booming again, and AI may be why

According to a new analysis from market intelligence provider Appfigures, worldwide app releases in the first quarter of 2026 were up 60% year-over-year across both Apple’s App Store and Google Play. That percentage was an even higher 80% when looking at the iOS App Store alone. In April 2026 so far, the total number of app releases is up 104% across both stores compared to the same time last year, and up 89% on iOS. As Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Greg “Joz” Joswiak, quipped In a recent interview: rumors of the App Store’s death in the AI age “may have been greatly exaggerated.”
https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/18/the-app-store-is-booming-again-and-ai-may-be-why/

Anthropic launches Claude Design, a new product for creating quick visuals

image via techcrunch.com

Anthropic announced on Friday that it’s launching Claude Design, a new experimental product that lets users create visuals like prototypes, slides, one-pagers, and more using Claude. The company says Claude Design is intended to help people like founders and product managers without a design background share their ideas more easily.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/17/anthropic-launches-claude-design-a-new-product-for-creating-quick-visuals/

Canva’s AI assistant can now call various tools to make designs for you

Canva is leaning into this paradigm in the latest version of its Canva AI assistant, which uses its AI model to let users create editable designs with text prompts. Users can describe what they want it to make, and the bot will call the required tools and come up with a few options. The assistant uses layers to make designs, which gives users the flexibility to tweak different aspects of the final product as they see fit.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/16/canvas-ai-assistant-can-now-call-various-tools-to-make-designs-for-you/

Netflix is expanding into kids’ games with a new standalone app

Netflix is launching a new standalone app for kids’ games called Netflix Playground, the company announced on Monday. Netflix Playground is available as part of a Netflix subscription, and doesn’t have any ads or in-app purchases. It can be accessed offline without a mobile or Wi-Fi connection, which the company says makes it the “perfect companion for long airplane rides or grocery trips.”
https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/06/netflix-launches-a-standalone-app-for-kids-games/

A new connections app, Sonder, has a deliberately tedious sign-up process (and it’s working)

“With the format of existing dating apps, the intention is lowering the barrier to entry and improving access, allowing for introverts to meet a bunch of people easily,” co-founder Helen Sun told TechCrunch. “Those intentions were really good at the beginning, but based on the way those apps have evolved, I think it’s become a very monotonous thing, and people are suffering from burnout because there’s a loss of authenticity.”
https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/01/a-new-dating-app-sonder-has-a-deliberately-annoying-sign-up-process-and-its-working

OpenAI’s Sora was the creepiest app on your phone – now it’s shutting down

OpenAI announced on Tuesday that it is shutting down Sora, a TikTok-like social app that launched six months ago. OpenAI did not give a reason for the shut down, nor did it share information about when it will officially be discontinued.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/24/openais-sora-was-the-creepiest-app-on-your-phone-now-its-shutting-down/

Ads are coming to Apple Maps, as Apple expands its business offerings

Apple on Tuesday announced that it will begin to allow advertisers to target customers on Apple Maps, starting in the U.S. and Canada later this summer. The ads will be available to any size business that has a physical location and has already created a business listing on Apple Maps. Users, meanwhile, will see the ads appear next to relevant search results.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/24/apple-maps-ads-apple-business/