According to the latest data from Sensor Tower, the global non-gaming mobile application market maintained overall growth in the first quarter of 2026, with both downloads and revenue showing improvement. Structurally, content-based applications and AI applications have become the primary growth drivers, pushing the industry into a new phase of differentiation. From the download perspective, short drama applications have seen significant growth driven by leading products, with some apps far exceeding the industry average in download growth rate. From the revenue perspective, the monetization capabilities of AI tool applications continue to improve.

In the short drama sector, leading products are capturing emerging markets, with FreeReels experiencing a 137% surge in downloads. Global downloads for short drama apps grew 7% quarter-over-quarter in Q1 2026, approaching 790 million, with cumulative downloads nearing 3.7 billion. Emerging markets, particularly in Southeast Asia, showed impressive growth, with downloads increasing 39% this quarter. Leveraging their focus on these emerging markets, leading products such as FreeReels, NetShort, and Melolo saw dramatic download increases, contributing significantly to overall download growth.

FreeReels, under Kunlun Tech Co.,Ltd. (300418.SZ), saw its downloads increase by 137% quarter-over-quarter to 115 million, securing the top spot on the short drama app download chart for the third consecutive month and becoming a major contributor to the sector's growth. By mid-April, FreeReels' global cumulative downloads had surpassed 200 million. Regionally, its growth was primarily fueled by India, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, where its free, lightweight, and localized strategy enabled rapid market penetration. On the content supply side, FreeReels launched multiple localized series tailored to regional user preferences in Q1, such as the female empowerment-themed "The Hidden Billionaire Wife" and the suspense series "Vengeance in the City." The release of this content subsequently boosted platform downloads, highlighting the effectiveness of the localized content strategy for user acquisition.

NetShort, under NETSTORY, saw a 196% quarter-over-quarter increase in downloads, making it one of the fastest-growing short drama apps this quarter. Additionally, ByteDance's Melolo grew its downloads by 48%, maintaining steady expansion supported by its existing distribution framework. Overall, short drama apps achieved scale expansion across multiple regional markets by increasing their supply of localized content.

In the AI sector, Dola surpassed 200 million cumulative downloads, with its differentiated strategy helping it capture emerging markets. Growth in AI applications during Q1 2026 was evident in both expanded download volumes and enhanced commercialization capabilities. Sensor Tower data indicates that downloads for native generative AI apps exceeded 1.1 billion for the quarter, while in-app purchase revenue increased 14% quarter-over-quarter to $1.9 billion. AI assistant applications contributed 78% of the downloads and 85% of the in-app purchase revenue. Some utility apps increased usage frequency through feature expansions, positively impacting their monetization conversion.

ByteDance's AI assistant application Dola (the overseas version of Doubao) recorded over 72 million downloads this quarter, a 47% increase from the previous quarter, officially surpassing 200 million cumulative downloads. Its average DAU in March was close to 12 million. Commercially, Dola has avoided direct competition with giants like ChatGPT and Gemini in European and American markets. Instead, it has rapidly gained traction in emerging markets like Southeast Asia and Latin America through a free model, low-barrier subscriptions, a lightweight product design, and deep localization strategies. In Q1 2026, Dola surpassed ChatGPT to become the most downloaded AI application in Southeast Asia and ranked second only to ChatGPT in the Latin American market. Feature-wise, the addition of schedule management and multi-language interaction capabilities expanded its use cases, helping to increase user frequency and retention, thereby laying the groundwork for future commercialization.

In the AI video generation space, PixVerse, a leading global AI video generation platform developed by Aishi Technology, saw downloads grow 92% quarter-over-quarter to nearly 26 million. Its strong character-scene consistency and precise semantic understanding capabilities have made it the world's most downloaded AI video generation application. According to Sensor Tower, PixVerse's global cumulative downloads exceeded 100 million by the end of March. As the stability of generative capabilities improves, the depth of usage for these tools in content creation scenarios is increasing. Currently, the commercialization of AI applications heavily relies on penetration into high-frequency use cases, with revenue growth still concentrated in efficiency tool products that have more mature functional ecosystems.

For content and e-commerce applications, tools and distribution channels continue to drive revenue and user growth. ByteDance's TikTok and its video editing tool CapCut remained at the top of the rankings. TikTok's global Monthly Active Users surpassed the 2 billion mark this quarter, with downloads growing 7% quarter-over-quarter, demonstrating stable growth even from a high base. CapCut's revenue increased by 9% this quarter; its newly launched "AI Commercial Ad Template" feature effectively helps small cross-border merchants quickly create video advertisements, enhancing its penetration in the B2B market. Furthermore, the AI photo editing app Hypic saw downloads exceed 33 million, a 21% increase from the previous quarter, indicating ByteDance's continued expansion in the visual creativity sector.

In the cross-border e-commerce sector, Temu and SHEIN maintained their user bases in the hundreds of millions, with Q1 MAUs reaching 530 million and 440 million, respectively. Meanwhile, Alibaba's (BABA) UC Browser saw a 70% quarter-over-quarter increase in downloads; its "Speed Content Stream" feature, launched for emerging markets and integrating sports event alerts and lightweight content previews, boosted user engagement.

From an MAU perspective, system utility applications continue to hold significant positions. Manufacturers like Xiaomi, vivo, and Transsion have established stable user bases in overseas markets through pre-installed applications such as browsers, galleries, and file managers. This quarter, vivo Browser and AI Gallery achieved active user growth of 4% and 2%, respectively. The 'native' and 'high-frequency' attributes of system-level applications on user devices make them stable traffic entry points for content distribution and feature extensions.

The Q1 2026 landscape for apps expanding overseas indicates that short drama applications are experiencing notable download growth, with leading products performing exceptionally well in markets like Europe, America, and Southeast Asia. AI applications, through feature expansion and increased usage frequency, are enabling some efficiency tools to achieve revenue growth. For publishers, the quarter's data suggests that leveraging AI to optimize content production efficiency and targeting high-frequency use cases will be crucial for enhancing commercialization capabilities and could become a key factor in the global competitive landscape for the full year.