After updating to version 23.10.2, if you encounter the issue described:
Navigate to the "Applications" tab in the settings.
Select "Unset pool".
Once you've done that, observe where it says "Initializing Apps Service"; it should stop.
Next, reselect the pool where your applications are located.
Now, observe that "Initializing Apps Service" should work correctly.
(5/11/24) spent much time to troubleshoot the issue of apps can't be deployed. Very likely due to the Pool permission to be set as apps for some reasons.

