A case has emerged of building a personal meditation timer app for the iPhone in about 4 minutes without coding by using Google AI Studio.

According to the IT outlet TechRadar on Aug. 4 local time, a user made the app using Google AI Studio after failing to find a meditation app that suited them.

The user wanted a countdown timer starting at 10 minutes, a calm screen and gentle music played during meditation. Existing free apps either had designs the user did not like or had too many unnecessary features, along with ads and prompts to subscribe. The user had been using the timer function on the iOS Clock app, but it did not meet the desired mood and convenience, the report said.

The user typed into AI Studio's prompt window asking it to make a meditation timer that counts down from 10 minutes when a button is pressed. The user then accepted AI Studio's suggestion to let the user adjust background sound and session time settings.

AI Studio presented the first design in 38 seconds. The total time to complete a working app was 238 seconds. The finished app added theme selection, a pre-start waiting time setting, breathing guidance and interval alert bell functions in addition to the basic timer.

The app was distributed as a web app rather than installed on the iPhone. Using AI Studio's 'Publish' function can generate a unique web address, and users can access that address on an iPhone to run it.

Problems also emerged depending on the execution environment. It worked normally on Chrome for iPhone, but it initially did not run on Safari. The cause was Safari's default setting that blocks third-party cookies. The user was able to run the app after turning off Safari's 'Prevent Cross-Site Tracking' function in iPhone settings. Having to change default settings for security and privacy is something to consider during use.

The user said AI Studio enabled rapid implementation of a personal tool simply by describing desired functions in natural language. The user added that there were limits in functions and distribution because the result was a web app, not a finished native app distributed on the App Store.

The case shows that generative AI-based app-building tools are lowering the entry barrier for personal software development. It may be difficult to replace complex commercial apps, but a way of implementing needed functions in a short time and using them immediately is expected to spread further.