According to a new report from Sensor Tower: State of Mobile 2026, there were significant changes in the mobile app market in 2025. Not only did TikTok remain the undisputed leader in downloads, in-app purchase revenue, and total time spent in the app, but there was also a surge in interest in AI assistants and short-form drama series.
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The report states that ChatGPT saw a 148% year-over-year increase in downloads, 254% in in-app purchase revenue, and a staggering 426% in total usage time, making it the world's second most downloaded app and the leading AI app ahead of Google Gemini, DeepSeek, Perplexity or Meta AI.
Games are stagnating, AI and video applications are growing
While total downloads remained stable year-over-year, for the first time, users are spending more on apps than on mobile games. Gaming apps saw only 1% revenue growth and a 7% drop in downloads. In contrast, AI assistants became the tenth largest category by total time spent, with a 426% year-over-year jump.
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The big surprise was the Short Drama category – short dramatic stories that saw similar growth as AI applications. Combined with the continued dominanceancThe growth of social networks, where users have spent almost 2,5 trillion hours worldwide, is further evidence of changing user behavior.
Top apps in categories and gender differences
Among the most downloaded applications in categories we find:
- AI: ChatGPT
- Hry: Block Blast!
- Finance: PhonePe
- Shop: Temu
- Video: DramaBox
- Socials: TikTok
- Food: McDonald's
- Travel: Uber
- Health: Flo
- Sports: Dream11
At the end of the year ChatGPT became the ninth most used app among American men, while Pinterest, TikTok, and Vemo dominated the female audience.
