Gemini Tops App Store as Nano Banana Model Fuels Record Growth

 

Gemini’s mobile adoption has skyrocketed since the August debut of its Nano Banana image editor model, which has drawn strong reviews from users praising its ability to handle complex edits and generate realistic images. The app quickly climbed to the top of global app store charts, with downloads surging 45% month-over-month in September, according to new data from Appfigures.

 

So far this month, Gemini has added 12.6 million downloads, up from 8.7 million in August — and the month is only halfway through. The app, which had never ranked higher than No. 3 on the U.S. App Store earlier this year, reached No. 2 on September 8 and then claimed the No. 1 spot on September 12, overtaking OpenAI’s ChatGPT. It has held that position since, making it the only dedicated AI app in the App Store’s top 10.

 

Gemini has also broken into the top five iPhone apps in 108 countries worldwide. On Google Play, it jumped from No. 26 overall on September 8 to No. 2 by Monday, though ChatGPT still leads on Android.

 

Google has been actively promoting Gemini’s momentum. On September 8, Google Gemini and Google Labs VP Josh Woodward revealed on X that the app had attracted 23 million new users since Nano Banana’s launch, who collectively shared over 500 million images.

 

The surge in adoption is also driving consumer spending. Of the $6.3 million Gemini has generated on iOS this year, $1.6 million came in August alone, much of it after Nano Banana’s release. That marks a 1,291% increase from January’s $115,000. September is already on pace to match or exceed August’s figure, with $792,000 earned so far this month.

 

To date, Gemini has been downloaded 185.4 million times globally, including 103.7 million downloads in 2025 across iOS and Android.