Global Mobile Apps in September | Gemini’s “Nano Banana” Goes Viral to Take the Top Spot, While FlareFlow’s Emotional Dramas Climb the Charts

SocialPeta sorted out the top 20 global mobile Apps by advertising, revenue, and downloads in September  2025, hoping to be of assistance to more people in the mobile app industry who are trying to understand the changing trends of the global mobile market.

The overall performance of global mobile apps in September:

• FlareFlow ramped up its ad investment once again.
• NetShort maintained a strong presence in the Top 5.
• Peacock TV saw revenue growth driven by multiple hit dramas.
• Gemini’s “Nano Banana” went viral across social media, debuting straight at No. 1.

Top 20 Mobile Apps by Advertising in September 2025

First, let’s take a look at the September rankings for global mobile app advertising:

As the year-end approaches, competition among major micro-drama platforms has intensified. NetShort maintained strong spending, ranking No.4 on both iOS and Android. FlareFlow saw a significant jump, rising to No.10 on iOS and No.11 on Android — up 6–7 places from August. RocNovel, a web novel platform, remained steady as the iOS ad champion and Android runner-up. Outside the Top 20, several apps showed quiet but strong momentum — AI karaoke and social app StarMaker increased its Android ad creatives by about 50%.

Let’s first take a look at NetShort :

This year, NetShort has consistently increased its ad spending, rarely dropping out of the Top 5. According to SocialPeta,  its detailed September advertising performance is as follows:

• Approximately 270,000 deduplicated creatives across iOS and Android, up 3.8% MoM, showing stable investment.
• Ads ran in 81 countries/regions, with the U.S. accounting for over 47% of total impressions.
• New creatives accounted for 78.6%.
• Around 1,400 micro-dramas were actively promoted, with 600 new titles launched in September.
• The top-performing series was Camino de Gloria Celestial, a Spanish-dubbed fantasy drama about male rebirth and ascension, notable for its exaggerated visual effects and dramatic acting. Its estimated impressions have reached 150 million, making it one to watch.

Then let's take a look at  FlareFlow.  Since its launch, FlareFlow has continuously expanded its ad investment and produced multiple breakout hits. The detailed performance in September is as follows:

• Approximately 193,000 deduplicated creatives across iOS and Android.
• Ads ran in 79 countries/regions, led by the U.S., U.K., Germany, and France.
• Over 600 micro-dramas were promoted, with new titles accounting for 67.7%.

The top-promoted title was Goodbye after 99 Forgiveness, telling the story of Blair and her husband Alex — every time he hurts or disappoints her, she asks for a pearl; when the number reaches 99, she leaves.

Finally, outside the main rankings, Rise — an AI-powered health management app — is also gaining traction as more users prioritize wellness. Launched in November 2019, the app has now produced over 130,000 deduplicated creatives in total. Its September performance:

• Around 20,000 deduplicated creatives across iOS and Android, slightly down MoM.
• Ads ran in 77 countries/regions, led by the U.S., Germany, and Canada.
• Video creatives dominated, accounting for over 80%.
• Hot creatives featured short lifestyle interviews or conceptual videos emphasizing how Rise helps users wake up early, stay productive, and improve sleep quality.

Top 20 Mobile Apps by Downloads in September 2025

Apps outstanding with downloads on the App Store in September：

• In September, Google Gemini launched its Nano Banana image generation model, which went viral across social media and triggered a massive surge in traffic. The tool has already surpassed 200 million image edits shortly after release, propelling the app straight to the top of the App Store download chart for September. Notably, the AI-generated figurine images that went viral on RedBook were also created using this model.
• Zoom has rolled out AI Companion 3.0, focusing on boosting meeting efficiency and content handling. The update introduces three key features: a proactive meeting assistant, advanced research and writing support, and an enhanced AI Notes tool — all contributing to a notable rise in downloads this September. 

Apps outstanding with downloads on the Google Play in September:

• In September, WhatsApp rolled out several feature updates, most notably introducing a message translation function. Android users can now enable automatic translation for entire chat conversations. Additionally, the update included new features such as real-time photos and AI-powered chat themes and backgrounds, all of which significantly boosted user growth.
• According to a September 11 report by CLS, emerging AI company Perplexity secured a $200 million funding commitment from investors, raising its valuation from $18 billion to $20 billion in just two months.

Top 20 Mobile Apps by Revenue in September 2025

Apps with surging revenue on the App Store in September：

• In September, multiple new shows were released on Peacock TV, including the comedy The Paper, the Emmy Award–winning series The Office, and the popular reality show Love Island Games, all of which drove a sharp rise in the platform’s revenue across both iOS and Android.
• Similarly, Paramount+ also premiered several new films and TV series in September, including the highly anticipated new season of Tulsa King and the comedy The Wedding Banquet, starring well-known host Yang Bowen.

 Apps with surging revenue on the Google Play in September： 

• The 2025 Black Friday and Cyber Monday holiday shopping season is the most anticipated global shopping event of the year. As many sellers began preparing for this major occasion, Amazon Shopping saw its revenue ranking rise significantly.

The above are insights into global mobile App launches in September 2025, as well as mobile App revenue and download situations across both the App Store and Google Play. For more mobile marketing data, please visit www.socialpeta.com.