Sensor Tower published its Q2 2026 Digital Market Index report earlier today, providing a deeper look at mobile spending and app downloads during the second quarter of 2026.
Non-gaming apps were the driving force behind spending growth during Q2 on both the Android and iOS App Stores, while gaming showed a year-over-year decline. Non-gaming revenue showed an impressive 14.6% year-over-year increase in Q2 2026, while gaming revenue fell 4.5% over the same period. Non-gaming apps generated $24.4 billion in revenue and 25.5 billion downloads, while the gaming category generated $19.2 billion in revenue and 11.3 billion downloads.
The report shows that in the United States, in-app purchase (IAP) revenue declined 3% year-over-year, although it still lead the world in spending at $14.8 billion. China’s revenue growth of 10% was good for a distant second for the period, with $5.98 billion in IAP revenue.
Apple last month said on its fiscal Q3 2026 earnings call blamed weaker mobile gaming performance for part of its Services revenue slowdown. Plus regulatory changes affected the App Store business model.
India hung on to its first place spot in the app downloads arena, with 6.67 billion installs, up 4% year-over-year. The US was the runner-up, tallying 3.08 billion downloads, down 0.2%, while Brazil’s numbers were good for third place with 2.43 billion, down 2%.
Generative AI led the spending:
Non-gaming genres maintained strong monetization momentum in Q2 2026, with nine of the top 10 categories posting positive YoY growth. Generative AI led this expansion, doubling consumer spend with a 108% YoY surge. Market leader ChatGPT held roughly 60% category revenue share with 82% YoY growth, while competitors like Claude, Grok, and Gemini also saw rapid acceleration. Claude particularly stood out, climbing from No. 7 ranked Generative AI app in Q2 2025 to No. 2 globally in Q2 2026.
Dating & Social Discovery was the only top category to experience a decline globally, falling 11% YoY primarily due to softness in the US market, which contracted 34% YoY. However, Latin American markets showed strong growth momentum, led by Mexico with a 41% YoY revenue gain, alongside double-digit expansion in Brazil (+19% YoY) and Argentina (+18% YoY).
The report says the most downloaded app around the globe for the period was ChatGPT, followed by TikTok and Instagram. Top IAP revenue apps were the trio of TikTok, ChatGPT, and Google One.
Claude was the top “breakout” app by IAP revenue growth, making an impressive leap of 34 places to No. 10 overall. PineDrama score the most impressive leap in download numbers, climbing 237 places to #20 worldwide.
Google Play revenue expanded by nearly 10% Year-over-Year, more than triple the 3% annual growth seen on the iOS platform.
A single mobile gaming category defied the slide in gaming downloads contraction, as puzzle games saw a 1% Y-o-Y download growth in Q2 2026. Arrows Puzzle Escape hit number one on the global download chart and Arrows GO! also climbing into the top 5.
For more information, Sensor Tower’s full Q2 2026 Digital Market Index report is available at this link.
