Aptly: Making Mobile Apps from Natural Language

This paper introduces Aptly, a platform designed to democratize mobile app development, particularly for young learners. Aptly integrates a Large Language Model (LLM) with App Inventor, enabling users to create apps using their natural language. User's description is translated into a programming language that corresponds with App Inventor's visual blocks. A preliminary study with high school students demonstrated the usability and potential of the platform. Prior programming experience influenced how users interact with Aptly. Participants identified areas for improvement and expressed a shift in perspective regarding programming accessibility and AI's role in creative endeavors.
View on arXiv@article{patton2025_2405.00229, title={ Aptly: Making Mobile Apps from Natural Language }, author={ Evan W. Patton and David Y.J. Kim and Ashley Granquist and Robin Liu and Arianna Scott and Jennet Zamanova and Harold Abelson }, journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2405.00229}, year={ 2025 } }