KEN’S CAT LOG
▤Daily App Store Report

Daily App Store Report 2026-10-20

2026-10-19 saw the biggest reshuffle in paid developer-tools charts. New apps entered #1–#5 in JP, DE, and GB, while ios-developer-tools had the lowest top-10 retention rate of any category at 77%. TDB (ios-finance/free, KR #7) and Shelf (ios-utilities/free, HR #12–US #35), which appeared in four countries on the same day, are the first signs of new momentum.

New Entries

Apps appearing in multiple countries on the same day are the strongest signal.

  • Simultaneous entries in 4 countries
    • TDB (ios-finance/free): KR #7, DE #64, JP #64, US #90
    • Beat Blocks - Rhythm Practice (ios-music/paid): KR #9, JP #46, US #71, GB #84
    • Shelf: music, books, movies (ios-utilities/free): HR #12, GB #19, DE #24, US #35
    • WatchVideo Player, Disk Decipher, and Live Translator also appeared in four countries.
  • Simultaneous entries in 3 countries: Stay On Target 1138 (overall/paid) entered at DE #13, GB #17, and US #32. It reached #1 in DE's ios-utilities/paid chart (+94 from the previous period).
  • Top of a single chart: Finloq Accounts Ledger (finance/paid) and CathPal (medical/paid) both debuted at #1 in HR.

Sharp Monthly Rises

The reference date is 2026-09-20 (29 days ago). It is the oldest available collection date in the archive, so there is not yet a full month of data.

  • Major gains
    • Internet Speed Limiter in GB (developer-tools/paid) reached #1 (+97)
    • Collins British Bird Guide in GB reached #2 (+96)
    • VSCoW - Code Wrapper in DE reached #4 (+96)
    • 먼작귀 포켓 in KR (games/free) reached #1 (+92)
  • Apps absent on the reference date that reached #1 this time: move2pay in DE, ダックサバイバー in JP, Shell Keyboard in JP, and others.

Trends by Rank Tier

Tier held new Average change
Top (ranks 1–10) 85% 2% 3
Middle (ranks 11–50) 80% 7% 6.8
Bottom (ranks 51–100) 70% 19% 9.7

The top ranks are largely fixed, with turnover concentrated in the lower ranks. Google holds 121 top-rank slots, far exceeding Guild of Master Craftsman Publications Ltd's 32.

Trends by Country

  • DE: Had the most new entries at 1,040 and the lowest top-10 retention rate at 81%. It was the most active market.
  • US: Was the most stable, with a top-10 retention rate of 89%.
  • JP: Had the fewest new entries, at 787.
  • Shared hits: TestFlight was #1 in all six countries, as was Duolingo (education/grossing). LinkedIn (business/grossing) was #1 in four countries.

Trends by Category

  • High turnover
    • New entries: ios-utilities 344, ios-education 325, ios-music 313
    • Low top-10 retention: ios-developer-tools 77%; ios-reference and ios-sports 78%
  • Stable categories
    • High top-10 retention: ios-social-networking 92%; ios-games and ios-photo-video 91%
    • ios-shopping had the fewest new entries, with 90
  • In developer tools, DraftCode in JP (#2), App Icon Extractor in DE (#3), and CodeMan - VSCode in GB (#3) were new high-ranking entries.

Key Findings

1. TDB, Beat Blocks, and Shelf appeared in four countries on the same day

TDB entered ios-finance/free at KR #7, DE #64, JP #64, and US #90. Beat Blocks - Rhythm Practice entered ios-music/paid at KR #9, JP #46, US #71, and GB #84. Shelf: music, books, movies entered ios-utilities/free at HR #12, GB #19, DE #24, and US #35. Shelf is the strongest early signal, ranking within the top 35 in all four countries.

Confidence: High

2. Stay On Target 1138 entered overall/paid in DE, GB, and US, and reached #1 in DE utilities

It entered overall/paid on the same day at DE #13, GB #17, and US #32. It reached #1 in DE's ios-utilities/paid chart (+94 from the previous period) and was absent on the reference date.

Confidence: High

3. New apps are rapidly reaching the top of paid developer-tools charts

ios-developer-tools has the lowest top-10 retention rate of any category at 77%. New entries include DraftCode in JP (#2), App Icon Extractor in DE (#3), CodeMan - VSCode in GB (#3), OSINT Trace Suite (#4), and Html Editor Plus (#5). Compared with the reference date, Internet Speed Limiter in GB rose to #1 (+97), while VSCoW in DE rose to #4 (+96). Shell Keyboard in JP was absent on the reference date and is #1 this time.

Confidence: High

4. Top ranks are fixed, while turnover is concentrated in lower ranks

Ranks 1–10 had 85% held, 2% new, and an average change of 3. Ranks 51–100 had 70% held, 19% new, and an average change of 9.7. Google occupies 121 top-rank slots.

Confidence: High

5. DE was the most active, while the US was the most stable

DE had 1,040 new entries and a top-10 retention rate of 81%, both indicating the largest amount of movement. The US was the most stable at 89% top-10 retention, while JP had the fewest new entries at 787.

Confidence: High

6. Familiar leaders common to all six countries solidify the top ranks

TestFlight (developer-tools/free) and Duolingo (education/grossing) were #1 in all six countries. Replit was #1 in developer-tools/grossing in five countries, and Minecraft was #1 in games/paid in five countries.

Confidence: High

7. High new-entry counts in utilities, education, and music, versus stable social networking

New entries totaled 344 for ios-utilities, 325 for ios-education, and 313 for ios-music. By contrast, top-10 retention was 92% for ios-social-networking and 91% for ios-games and ios-photo-video, with little movement at the top.

Confidence: Medium

8. KR's 먼작귀 포켓 reached #1 in games/free, up +92 from the reference date

It reached #1 in KR's ios-games/free chart. Games is a stable category with 91% top-10 retention, making its climb to first place particularly notable.

Confidence: Medium

Recommended Actions

  • Track Shelf: music, books, movies (four countries, HR #12–US #35) and TDB (KR #7 plus three other countries) again tomorrow to see whether their same-day appearance gains traction.
  • Investigate paid developer-tools charts (DraftCode, CodeMan - VSCode, Internet Speed Limiter, Shell Keyboard) as a possible feature on demand for coding on mobile devices.
  • Look into why Stay On Target 1138 appeared simultaneously in overall/paid charts in DE, GB, and US (what sparked attention) and turn it into a short news item.
  • Because turnover is concentrated in ranks 51–100, focus monitoring for the next signals on the lower ranks.
  • Ask the data infrastructure team to investigate the inconsistency in which missing rating counts exceed row counts, as well as the degraded status of KR/featured.

Data Quality Notes

All 468 target charts were collected (0 missing), and comparison with the previous period, 2026-10-18, was possible for 468 / 468 charts. The monthly comparison reference date, 2026-09-20, was 29 days ago and is the oldest collection date in the archive. There is not yet a full month of data. KR/featured is reported as having a degraded source (reduced quality). Missing ratings are reported at 228610, exceeding the 45722 rows analyzed; the aggregation unit may differ from the row count. Avoid making judgments based on ratings.