How to Actually Build Mobile Apps with AI in 2026 | A Complete Beginner's Tutorial

A comprehensive beginner's tutorial on building a Duolingo-style language learning mobile app using React Native, Expo, and TypeScript — entirely with AI assistance. The core methodology introduced is 'practical vibe coding': a structured workflow using an agents.md file to give AI persistent project context, a four-part prompt structure (context, task, constraints, design reference), and a feature-by-feature build approach. The stack includes NativeWind for styling, Zustand for state, Clerk for auth, Stream for real-time voice AI, and PostHog for analytics. The tutorial covers project setup, design system creation, and onboarding screen implementation, emphasizing how to avoid both pure vibe coding chaos and over-engineering paralysis.