India’s mobile app market reached a record US$345 million in the second quarter of 2026, up 35% from a year earlier, as spending rose on AI, streaming, and productivity apps, according to Sensor Tower.

Sensor Tower said India had the fastest app revenue growth in Q2. Quarterly downloads stayed around 6.3 billion since 2023, while revenue per download more than doubled over the past three-and-a-half years.

Earlier Sensor Tower data showed non-gaming growth came from streaming, cloud, and AI utilities.

Video entertainment accounted for five of the top 10 revenue-generating apps in India in the first quarter. ChatGPT and Claude made up nearly 83% of India’s AI app revenue in Q2, Sensor Tower said.

Non-gaming apps accounted for 68% of mobile app revenue in the first half of 2026, and Appfigures estimated ChatGPT generated about US$60,000 a day in India.

This shift also coincided with wider use of digital payments, including India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and digital wallets, which reduce friction for in-app purchases and subscriptions, Sensor Tower said.

App store policy could affect revenue.

Apple is challenging India’s antitrust findings on App Store policies, while Google previously changed Android practices after action by the Competition Commission of India.

🔗 Source: TechCrunch