From a description to a published app
Runway, the U.S. maker of video generation AI, on Oct. 26 (Oct. 27 Japan time) launched "App Studio," which builds creative apps. When users describe in text the tool they want, App Studio writes the app, tests it and takes it through to publication. The finished app has its own interface and creates assets with Runway's image, video and audio models.
Existing workflows can also be turned into apps in a single step. The combination of prompts and models and the settings are locked in, and colleagues see only the input fields they need. A "brand kit" that bundles logos, colors and style guidelines can be built in, and changes to the kit are also reflected in the output of existing apps. No API keys or servers need to be set up.
No extra cost on paid plans
App Studio is available at no extra cost on all paid plans. Building, running and publishing apps are deducted from users' existing credits. When others use a published app, their own credits are deducted. Free users can use only apps provided by Runway and apps shared with them.
Apps start out usable only by their creators, and on Team and Enterprise plans they can be shared with colleagues, projects or the whole organization. Corporate administrators can turn off App Studio for each organization or prohibit external publication.
Character replacement also offered
Runway also lined up apps it built itself. They include "Character Swap," which replaces characters in a video while keeping their movements, "AutoComp," which swaps products in footage, and "Precise Edit," which edits only a specified part of an image. Runway announced on X on Oct. 29 (the same day in Japan time) that Character Swap can now replace people and locations and also supports replacing voices.
Early adopters such as the design firm KPF built dozens of apps, including one that creates walkthrough videos from architectural renderings, according to the company. Runway pitches the absence of work to connect models and publish apps as an advantage over general-purpose app-building AI such as Replit.
Limits such as no deletion
Immediately after launch, users could not delete apps they had built or unpublish them, and could only restrict visibility back to themselves. Starting a build requires a balance of about 700 credits.
Runway released a series of enterprise features in October, and on Oct. 27 it also launched "Runway Ads" for ad generation.
