The App That Dethroned ChatGPT Isn't What You'd Expect
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ChatGPT has been the top app in the US App Store for quite a while, sticking to the #1 position as if it's been glued to the top. But things can change on the App Store very quickly. Very very quickly.
Two weeks ago, a new app pogo-sticked its way into the top of the charts, dethroning ChatGPT and even the latest sensation, Tea.
But unlike recent overnight risers, this one wasn't social or AI. This one's a focus timer....
In case you weren't looking, the app I'm referring to is Focus Friend.
So how does a focus timer shoot up to the top of the charts overnight?
You're ready for me to say TikTok, right? Well, the app belongs to YouTube celebrity Hank Green. You may also know his brother, John Green. Together, the Green brothers are one of the first YouTube celebs.
And yes, TikTok. Hank and John both took to all of their social channels to promote the app - including (and mostly) TikTok - causing it to take off very quickly. And their efforts paid off!
After a week, the app was downloaded 1.4M times from the App Store and Google Play, according to Appfigures Intelligence. And the split between the two platforms is interesting.
I expected most of the downloads to come from the US, but they came from all over. And while most downloads came from the App Store and the US was responsible for the majority of the downloads, the combination wasn't the winner.
In the US, most downloads - roughly 72% - came from Google Play.
Revenue, however, is where things went back to "normal" with the App Store earning 83% of the $370K in net revenue (after fees), according to our estimates. That's a good start, but at around $0.27/download, below the average for similar apps in the segment, which sits at over $1/download.
So far, Focus Friend has made its way into 1.9M devices, earning $800K of net revenue - what the brothers get to keep after paying Apple and Google their fees.
But here's the thing - celebrities, while cool, aren't always enough on their own to make an app sticky at ChatGPT scale. Two weeks in, Focus Friend has dropped to #48 in the Top Overall chart in the US App Store, and as of early September, the app has dropped out of the combined chart entirely.
Getting sticky is hard, and the apps that achieve it don't do it with spikes but rather consistency.
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All figures included in this report are estimated. Unless specified otherwise, estimated revenue is always net, meaning it's the amount the developer earned after Apple and Google took their fee.
