The mobile market is stronger than ever as we enter 2025, with a recovering mobile gaming market adding to the rapid growth seen in non-gaming.
Sensor Tower’s State of Mobile 2025 Report reveals that monetisation on mobile is only accelerating.
In 2024, global in-app purchase (IAP) revenue across iOS and Google Play reached $150 billion for the first time (+13% YoY), the highest growth seen since 2021.
This includes spending on in-app purchases, subscriptions and paid apps and games.
The State of Mobile 2025 report highlight how the latest strategies by app developers have fuelled this growth and where there are still opportunities in 2025 and beyond.
App Revenue Soars as Mobile Markets Mature
More than a decade and half on from the launch of Apple’s App Store, the mobile market is beginning to stabilise across the globe.
Downloads across iOS and Google Play were roughly flat year-over-year (YoY) at 136 billion.
With the influx of new smartphone users slowing and with many consumers already having most of their favourite apps, the report notes downloads hovering around 135-140 billion a year since 2020.
Meanwhile, people continue to spend more time on their phones than ever before.
Consumers spent 4.2 trillion hours across iOS and Google Play apps, or roughly 3.5 hours per day per mobile user.
However, there are signs that time spent on mobile is slowing as consumers in some countries experience digital fatigue.
Globally, the 5.8% YoY growth in total hours spent was a bit below the 7.7% YoY growth in 2023, and time spent actually levelled out in several key markets including the US, Japan, South Korea and China.
Consumers Continue to Flock to Finance Apps
Global Finance app downloads exceeded 7 billion in 2024, up 8% YoY.
This was an acceleration from the already strong growth in recent years as consumers continue to find mobile alternatives for their finance needs, from banking to payments to crypto.
The genre has also maintained double-digit YoY growth for time spent, indicating that consumers are also relying on these apps more than ever before.
In the US, downloads and time spent in Finance apps declined in 2022 as consumers became more comfortable with in-person interactions following the pandemic (though it’s worth noting downloads were still well above pre-pandemic levels even if below their pandemic peak).
Positive growth returned in 2024, highlighting the potential for mobile options even post-pandemic.
Payment and Banking Apps Led the Finance Genre
The top two Finance subgenres (Digital Wallet & P2P Payments and Consumer Banking) both had a strong year for worldwide downloads, climbing 10% and 3% YoY, respectively.
Meanwhile, Cryptocurrency apps saw a resurgence in 2024 with app downloads slightly above the previous peak from 2021.
The ceiling for downloads is highest for Digital Wallet & P2P Payment apps, with seven of these apps among the top 10 by global downloads in 2024.
And these apps may be incentivised to become even more global — a Sensor Tower analysis revealed that P2P apps specialising in international transfers are outperforming domestic P2P apps in the US.
Cryptocurrency apps can also have global appeal, with Binance and Tonkeeper ranking among the top 10.
Consumer Banking tends to be more regional. Consumer Banking apps topped the download charts in several markets including Australia, Brazil and Turkey
Cryptocurrency App Usage on the Rise in 2024
The cryptocurrency market is recovering from the downturn caused by the FTX collapse.
As inflation eases and the global economy expands, investor confidence is returning, leading to increased engagement in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
According to Sensor Tower data, the global total session count for cryptocurrency apps increased by 37% YoY in 2024.
This upward trend has been consistent, with positive YoY growth in each quarter throughout the year, showing a strong correlation with Bitcoin’s price.
In 2024, Germany stood out as the fastest-growing market for cryptocurrency app usage, with a 91% YoY growth in total sessions.
This was followed by significant increases in Indonesia (54%), Brazil (47%) and France (47%), reflecting a broad global uptick in cryptocurrency engagement.
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