Mumbai: Global app downloads reached 36.1 billion in Q4 2021, a 2.7 per cent year-over-year increase on Google Play, according to the latest data published by Sensor Tower.

The mobile app space is still in a state of transformation amid the ongoing global pandemic. While categories such as shopping, finance, and entertainment dominated the download list, others too bounced back amid the pandemic lockdowns across the world. 

According to Sensor Tower’s Q4 202 Store Intelligence Data Digest, finance and tools were among the quarter's top categories with 39 per cent and 26 per cent year-over-year growth on Google Play, respectively. However, cryptocurrency and investing apps gained momentum with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) emerging as a top trend.

Instagram had its best quarter since at least 2014, with installs up 10 per cent from its previous high in Q32021. Instagram was Meta's first app to take the top spot since Whatsapp in Q42019. 

The last quarter was also the second time in the past two years that Tik Tok was not the top app by worldwide downloads. The last app to surpass Tik Tok in a quarter was Zoom in Q2 2020.

Meanwhile, record-breaking eight mobile games, including PUBG Mobile from Tencent, Honor of Kings from Tencent, and Genshin Impact from miHoYo generated more than $1 billion globally from the App Store and Google Play in 2021. PUBG Mobile, localised as Game For Peace in China and Battlegrounds Mobile in India, and Honor of Kings rank as the number one and number two revenue-generating mobile titles worldwide this year, accumulating $2.8 billion each, up nine per cent and 14.7 per cent year-over-year, respectively.