Worldwide App Store downloads grew 2.4 percent to hit 8.6 billion in the first quarter of 2022, according to data shared today by Sensor Tower (via TechCrunch). Between the App Store and the Google Play store, there were 36.9 billion total app downloads, an increase of 1.4 percent.
As there are far more Android users than iPhone users, there were a much higher number of apps downloaded on Android devices, with Google Play downloads hitting 28.3 billion during the quarter.
TikTok was the most downloaded app on the iPhone and the iPad worldwide, surpassing 70 million App Store downloads. YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook were the other top downloaded apps, which is unchanged from the year-ago quarter.
TikTok has been downloaded more than 3.5 billion times since its launch, and it is the first non-Meta app to hit that milestone. In fact, since the beginning of 2018, no app has surpassed TikTok in downloads, according to Sensor Tower.
As for games, Subway Surfers, Wordle (the original from 2016), Coloring Match, PUBG Mobile, and Roblox were the most downloaded apps. Subway Surfer had more than 15 million downloads during the quarter.
Sensor Tower's full report on the state of the App Store in Q1 2022 can be found on the company's website. [PDF]
Tuesday November 11, 2025 9:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
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I knew it was a lot... but 28 billion downloads... in just 3 months?
Well when there that many Android phones on Earth... I guess I shouldn't be surprised. But still.
Does anyone have a purchases and/or revenue chart? I'd love to see how that compares to free downloads.
???
The report is full of interesting information, clearly displayed. I thought that the chart showing top countries by download was particularly interesting, both in the volumes shown for the top 10 countries, as well as for the differences between the App Store and Google Play in each country. Notice that China is not present in the top 10 because Google Play is not available in China:
Those numbers are crazy! Android totally overshadows iOS yet people still claim that Apple is a monopoly.
The number of apps downloaded to Android devices is ONLY counting Google Play. The actual number is likely even millions higher. Apple’s downloads aren’t even a half of what Google Play is seeing.
Knowing apple marketing team, they are including all app updates in the download numbers
Sensor Tower produced the data and they define what they count in the download numbers. Not sure what say Apple would have over the data Sensor Tower is presenting.
Does anyone else remember when Apple used to give prizes to users when Apple reached certain milestones? They've gotten lazy and complacent (like an old marriage mate who takes the other for granted).
The AppStore has been a confusing nightmare for some time now.
