Product Requirement Document
Overview
AI App Builder Evaluation — Mobile News App Project:
AI News Platform Team
Contributors: Charlyn Truong
Status: In Progress
Background
The rise of generative AI development tools has lowered the barrier to software creation, enabling faster prototyping and application development across technical skill levels. As the market grows more crowded, it becomes harder to evaluate which tools actually deliver on that promise — especially for designers and early-stage builders working without an engineering team. This project was created to answer that question directly: by building the same product across multiple AI app builders using the same prompt, the goal is to create a firsthand, structured comparison of how each tool performs in practice.
Problem
Designers, developers, and non-technical builders are increasingly turning to AI app builders to accelerate product development — but the landscape is fragmented and hard to navigate. Each platform promises fast, high-quality output with minimal effort, yet they differ slightly in how they interpret prompts, handle iteration, and perform within free tier constraints. Without a direct comparison, choosing the right tool becomes guesswork.
This project removes that guesswork by testing four leading AI app builders — Lovable, v0, Bolt, and Emergent — against the same brief, the same evaluation criteria, and the same iteration process. The goal is to give designers and early-stage builders a clear, experience-based reference for which tool performs best and under what conditions.
Objective / Goals
The goal of this project is not to determine which AI app builder is best, but to observe, document, and compare how each tool responds to the same conditions — giving designers and early-stage builders an honest, experience-based reference.
Evaluate how each AI app builder interprets and executes the same initial prompt without modification
Observe how each builder responds to iteration prompts — specifically how well it handles small details, corrections, and feature additions
Document the features each builder offers out of the box versus what requires prompting or is unavailable entirely
Compare each builder's output against the discovery build in Replit as a neutral reference point — not as a standard of better or worse, but as a consistent baseline
Identify what each builder does well and where it falls short so designers and builders can make an informed choice based on their specific needs
Success Metric
Core — evaluation is only valid if these are present
Interest/category selection screen is present and functional on first output
Feed landing page renders with article cards organized by category
Category tags are visible and associated with each article card
Article cards are tappable and attempt to open the article — whether the link is live or not
All iteration prompts are reflected in the final output in some form — tracked in the feature implementation table below
Builder generates a name and establishes a basic design system from the initial prompt (building a prototype ready to publish application)
Builder can publish or share a live preview of the project
Builder allows rollback or access to a previous version of the project
Bonus Points — noted where present, not penalized where absent
Article links connect to real, working sources
Builder suggests design alternatives or variations when prompted
Color system or visual identity is applied consistently across screens
Key Features and Scope
What are we building
Feature 1 — Interest Selection & Personalized Feed
Description: Users select preferred news categories during onboarding to personalize their feed
Goal: Establish user preference from the start so content feels relevant immediately
Use case:
First time user opens the app, selects Business and Tech, feed shows only those categories
Additional details: Categories should be visually distinct — icons, color coding, or both
Feature 2 — Article Cards with Summary
Description: Each article displays as a card with a headline and 2–3 sentence summary
Goal: Let users consume key information without committing to a full article
Use case: User scrolling feed reads the summary and decides whether to open the full article
Additional details: Card should be tappable — opens summary modal first, full article second
Feature 3 — Article Summary Modal
Description: Tapping an article opens an in-app overlay with key points before redirecting
Goal: Reduce friction between scanning and reading — give users a middle step
Use case: User taps article, modal appears with 3 bullet points, user decides to read more or dismiss
Additional details: Modal should scroll independently, exit button clearly separated from read more button
Feature 4 — Engagement Actions
Description: Upvote, save, share, and comment options on each article
Goal: Give users ways to interact beyond passive reading
Use case: User finds an article worth sharing, taps share without opening the full article
Additional details: Saved articles should be accessible from the profile page
Feature 5 — Navigation & Trending
Description: Bottom navigation with Home, Trending, and Profile tabs
Goal: Give users clear wayfinding and a reason to return to the app
Use case: User taps Trending to see what articles are gaining traction from other readers
Additional details: Trending ranked by read count, votes, and active discussion
What we are not building
Real news API integration — all content is placeholder for evaluation purposes
Authentication or user accounts — profile is lightweight, no login required
Backend infrastructure — no database, no server, no data persistence across sessions
Cross-platform compatibility testing — mobile first, web view secondary
Production deployment — this is an evaluation prototype, not a shippable product
App Requirements / Build Targets
These are the features each builder will be prompted to produce. All builders receive the same starting prompt. The core list reflects the evolved target after iteration — the starting prompt, was MVP only.
Core features that are required and iterated across all builders
Necessary Features (prompted to add)
Interest Selection - Onboarding screen to pick topics and personalize feed
Scrollable Feed - Headline + couple of sentence snippet; tapping opens short description summarizing article - no redirection; comment section
Article Summary Modal - Key points shown before committing to full article
Read Indicator - Visual marker on articles already viewed
Bottom Navigation - Home / Trending / Profile tabs
Upvote / Save / Share - Pre-article actions; saved articles accessible in profile
Commenting - View and post discussion within modal - no full article scroll required
Trending Page - Surfaces articles gaining traction by read count, votes, and active discussion
Nice to Have
(what builder tools have to offer additionally)
Expo Go prototype preview (live app preview on phone)
Publish with live link through site
Real article links
Interchangeable between web view and mobile view
Organized time machine to return back to previous versions
Evaluation Criteria
🧠 Out of Scope
Real news API · Authentication · Backend logic · Production Deployment · Cross-builder feature parity