A new report from analytics firm Sensor Tower provides an interesting look at what mobile users are spending their money on. Q2 2026 Results Across Platforms iOS and Android clearly show that non-gaming applications continue to be the main driver of global spending growth. The once dominant mobile gaming segment, on the other hand, has seen a relatively significant year-on-year decline.
The slowdown in the gaming market was also confirmed Apple
Last month, during the announcement of financial results for the third fiscal quarter of 2026, the company Apple pointed out that the slowdown in revenue growth in the Services category is primarily due to weaker performance in mobile games as well as recent regulatory changes affecting the business model itself App Store. A recent report called the Digital Market Index from analysts at Sensor Tower now confirms these words exactly and offers a much more detailed look at how total spending and downloads have actually changed.
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Non-gaming apps generate billions
According to the report, non-gaming app revenue grew 14,6 percent year-over-year in the second quarter. In contrast, gaming revenue fell 4,5 percent in the same period. In absolute terms, this means that non-gaming apps generated a respectable $24,4 billion from 25,5 billion downloads. Pro In comparison, mobile games generated $19,2 billion in revenue and recorded 11,3 billion downloads.
In the United States, total revenue from in-app purchases fell by three percent year-on-year, but the country still held on to its global lead with a total spending of $14,8 billion. China came in a distant second with spending of just under six billion, despite the fact that the market there recorded a solid ten percent growth. In terms of the number of app downloads, India continues to hold the top spot with more than six and a half billion installations, a four percent year-on-year increase. The United States follows, and Brazil rounds out the top three with a slight decline.
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Artificial intelligence on the rise and fall of dating sites
Non-gaming genres maintained a very strong pace monetization, with nine of the top ten categories showing positive year-on-year growth. This massive expansion is clearly led by generative artificial intelligence, which managed to double consumer spending with a staggering increase of 108 percent. The clear market leader remains ChatGPT, which holds about a sixty percent share of revenue in the entire category. Competitors such as Claude, Grok or Gemini However, it also reports a rapid acceleration in growth, with Claude making a huge leap and becoming number two worldwide.
The only major category that saw a significant decline globally were dating and dating apps. This segment fell by eleven percent, mainly due to weak results in the US market, which shrank by more than a third. On the other hand, the Latin American market, led by Mexico, Brazil and Argentina, currently represents strong growth potential for dating apps. Finally, the report states that the title of the biggest jump in revenue growth from in-app purchases went to the aforementioned chatbot Claude, while the biggest surprise in the number of new downloads was the PineDrama application, which moved up an incredible 237 places in the global ranking.
