On 2026-09-19, the top ranks were exceptionally stable (96% retention in the top 1–10, average movement of 0.5), with activity concentrated in the lower ranks (86% retention in the bottom tier; 8% new entries). The two changes worth reading are the wave of new entries in HR's android-entertainment/grossing in a single day (Tipsy Chat #10, Apple TV #13, zeta #15), and the double-digit gains for PDF and learning apps across countries in just 24 days since the reference date of 2026-08-26.

1. New Entries

Today's scope covers 370 charts / 13,658 rows, with 333 charts comparable against the previous day, 2026-09-18. There were 12 entries that appeared simultaneously in multiple countries, led by HiNoter - AI Note Taker (android-android-wear/grossing, KR #18 and HR #35) and Remini (android-photography/free, US #33 and JP #40). On individual charts, Live Cam Earth Map debuted directly at #4 in US maps-and-navigation/free, Bazaraki at #5 in HR shopping/grossing, and getquin at #9 in DE finance/grossing, highlighting several direct entries into the upper ranks.

2. Sharp Monthly Gains

The reference date, 2026-08-26, was 24 days ago, so it is important to note that this is not yet a full month of data. The largest gains came from Gambonanza (US game/paid #2, +40; GB #2, +35). In HR finance/grossing, asset-management apps rose broadly: Splitwise #5 (+38), TradingView #1 (+36), and Kraken #6 (+23). Among 15 apps that were absent on the reference date but reached the top 20 this time were Seneca (GB education #1), Google Classroom (HR education #1), and Air Wallet (JP finance #1).

3. By Rank Tier

top (1–10, 3,315 slots) was effectively fixed, with 96% retention, 0% new entries, and average movement of 0.5. mid (11–30, 6,084 slots) posted 94%/1%/1.3. Only bottom (31–45, 4,259 slots) showed real churn, with 86% retention, 8% new entries, and 1.8 average movement; room for entry exists only below rank 31. Developer information is blank in the aggregate, so it is not possible to identify businesses that dominate the upper ranks.

4. By Country

HR had the most new entries at 80 and the loosest top-10 retention at 94%, while the US remained quiet with 41 new entries across 77 charts and 95% retention. In JP, everyday-use services rose, including CHARGESPOT #5 (+36); in KR, PDF and AI learning apps gained; and education apps rose in tandem in GB and DE. Across all six countries, Canva and Duolingo (grossing) ranked #1.

5. By Category

The fastest-moving category was android-entertainment (27 new entries; 88% top-10 retention), followed by android-game (23; 93%). By contrast, android-weather and android-house-and-home each retained 99%, while android-libraries-and-demo was nearly static with just two new entries.

Key Findings

1. 10 new entries in HR's android-entertainment/grossing in one day — the most disrupted segment of any category

HR entertainment/grossing saw Tipsy Chat #10, Apple TV #13, zeta #15, PolyBuzz #19, KakaoPage #20, MapleStory Worlds #25, Vidio #26, MoboReels #27, Emochi #28, and MBC Shahid #30 appear on the same day. The category overall also had 27 new entries and 88% top-10 retention, the lowest of the day, indicating that HR's paid entertainment segment was effectively reshuffled. The simultaneous appearance of AI chat apps (zeta / PolyBuzz / Emochi / Tipsy Chat) and vertical short dramas (MoboReels) is a clue to the themes worth building today.

Confidence: High

2. 12 new entries appeared in multiple countries simultaneously. The highest-ranked were HiNoter (KR #18 / HR #35) and Remini (US #33 / JP #40)

Simultaneous entry into multiple markets is the earliest sign of emerging trends in this data. HiNoter - AI Note Taker appeared in android-android-wear/grossing at KR #18 and HR #35; Remini appeared in android-photography/free at US #33 and JP #40; LED Keyboard appeared in personalization/free at GB #34 and US #40; and Google Slides appeared in productivity/free at KR #42 and JP #43. All are either practical AI tools or established utilities. This makes them less likely to be a one-market blip, though their rankings remain in the lower tier for now.

Confidence: High

3. New entries that immediately reached the upper ranks: Live Cam Earth Map #4 in US maps, Bazaraki #5 in HR shopping/grossing, and getquin #9 in DE finance/grossing

These are examples of apps absent from the previous chart entering directly into the top 10. Live Cam Earth Map - GPS Cam debuted at #4 in US maps-and-navigation/free; Bazaraki at #5 in HR shopping/grossing; getquin at #9 in DE finance/grossing; and tigertones at #10 in DE music-and-audio/grossing. Given the 0% new-entry rate in the top tier, these are exceptional cases, and it is natural to infer that a promotional push or event is behind them.

Confidence: High

4. The reference date is 2026-08-26, 24 days ago—not a full month. Gambonanza posted the largest gains: US +40 / GB +35

Because the oldest archived collection date is 2026-08-26, the “monthly” comparison is actually a 24-day change. Within that span, Gambonanza rose to #2 in US game/paid (+40) and #2 in GB (+35), climbing in both markets at once. Such a gain is unusual for a paid game and suggests there is room for concepts with meaningful price points. When using these figures externally, they should be labeled as changes over approximately 3.5 weeks.

Confidence: High

5. PDF readers rose broadly across KR/US — KR productivity #11 (+32) and grossing #20 (+24), US #3 (+22), plus top-10 placements in 5 of 6 countries

PDF Reader & Viewer: Edit PDF reached #11 (+32) in KR productivity/free; PDF Reader: Edit HWP, DOC, PPT reached #20 (+24) in KR grossing; and PDF Reader, PDF Viewer reached #3 (+22) in the US. The same app family ranks in the global top 10 at KR #1, GB #2, HR #2, US #3, DE #4, and JP #8, while PDF Reader: Document Reader also newly entered KR at #28. General-purpose document tools are currently the practical category with the deepest demand.

Confidence: High

6. Back-to-school demand: education apps in GB, DE, and HR all rose against the reference date; GB's Seneca and HR's Google Classroom went from absent to #1

In GB, Tapestry reached #5 (+31), Seesaw #6 (+23), and Canvas By Instructure #12 (+22). In DE, cabuu reached #9 (+26) and SchoolFox #13 (+25); in HR, Fluzy reached #6 (+24). Apps absent on the reference date that entered the top 20 this time include Seneca (GB education/free #1), Google Classroom (HR education/free #1), and Photomath (HR #2). android-education's top 10 remains strong, with 97% retention, so the target should be replacement slots below rank 11.

Confidence: High

7. Entry room exists only below rank 31: 0% new entries and 0.5 average movement in top, versus 8% new entries and 1.8 in bottom

top (1–10, 3,315 slots) kept 96% in the same tier, with 0% new entries; mid (11–30, 6,084 slots) had 94% retention and 1% new entries; only bottom (31–45, 4,259 slots) had 86% retention, 8% new entries, and 1.8 average movement. In practical terms, new apps can enter only through the bottom tier, and the next metric to watch is whether they can rise from bottom into mid. Developer information is missing in 90,157 records, so this data cannot determine whether a small group of businesses dominates the upper ranks.

Confidence: High

8. HR saw the most churn (80 new entries; 94% top-10 retention), while the US was the quietest (41; 95%)

New entries by country were HR 80, KR 62, JP 59, DE 54, GB 52, and US 41. HR also had the lowest top-10 retention, 94%, among the six markets, making it a segment prone to test launches and the volatility typical of smaller markets. Conversely, despite having the most charts at 77, the US had the fewest new entries, with incumbent leaders largely unmoved. However, only 66 of the 77 US charts were comparable with the prior day, so actual churn may be slightly understated.

Confidence: Medium

9. Canva and Duolingo (grossing) were #1 in all six countries. Established leaders do not move

Canva ranked #1 in art-and-design/free across DE, GB, HR, JP, KR, and US, while Duolingo ranked #1 in education/grossing in all six countries. ChatGPT ranked #1 in productivity/free in five countries and #2 in KR; Spotify ranked #1 in music-and-audio/free in five countries and #2 in DE. The leaders in these categories are unlikely to open up soon, so concepts should target positions below rank 11 in the same categories, or fast-moving segments such as HR entertainment.

Confidence: High

10. Categories that barely moved: weather and house-and-home retained 99%; libraries-and-demo had only 2 new entries

android-weather (7 new entries; 99% top-10 retention), android-house-and-home (6; 99%), android-libraries-and-demo (2 new entries; 97%), and android-comics (3; 97%) saw almost no change today. This means exactly that nothing happened: launching a new app in these segments is unlikely to gain meaningful same-day visibility.

Confidence: High

Recommended Actions

• Track HR's android-entertainment/grossing for the next 2–3 days to see whether AI chat apps such as Tipsy Chat #10, zeta #15, and Emochi #28 hold their positions or disappear within a day. If they hold, prioritize AI character-conversation concepts.
• Add HiNoter (KR #18 / HR #35) and Remini (US #33 / JP #40), two of the 12 simultaneous multi-country new entries, to the watchlist. Watch whether they rise from the bottom tier (31–45) into the mid tier (11–30). The bottom tier has an 8% new-entry rate, but the mid tier only 1%, making that transition the real signal.
• Include PDF and document-viewing concepts among this week's candidates. KR saw simultaneous growth in free #11 (+32) and grossing #20 (+24), the US reached #3 (+22), and similar apps are in the top 10 in 5 of 6 countries, confirming both demand and monetization potential.
• Education categories in GB, DE, and HR are in a back-to-school growth phase. With top-10 retention at 97%, the leading spots are firm, so target positions below rank 11 and investigate the acquisition paths behind examples like Seneca and Google Classroom, which went from absent on the reference date to #1, such as school distribution and seasonal campaigns.
• Prioritize rerun jobs for the degraded TOP_GROSSING list (20 categories in DE, with broad impact across GB, HR, JP, KR, and US). As long as monetization data is structurally incomplete, revenue signals will be consistently underestimated.
• Check the collection path for missing developer and ratingCount fields (90,157 each). At present, it is impossible to answer whether a small number of businesses dominate the upper ranks, and the developer column in the tier-analysis table remains blank.
• Clearly state to report recipients that the reference date of 2026-08-26 is the oldest available and only 24 days earlier; until the archive contains 30 days of data, standardize terminology on “vs. reference date” rather than “monthly.”

Data Quality Notes

Today's collection comprises 370 charts / 13,658 rows. Of the 392 charts expected by configuration (excluding 238 not published by the source), 22 were not collected; among recent runs, 6 were partially completed and 36 fetches failed. Only 333 of 370 charts could be compared with the prior date, 2026-09-18. The remaining 37 have no prior collection, so “new entry” cannot be determined for them (a lack of comparison must not be treated as a new entry). Degraded sources are concentrated in TOP_GROSSING: DE grossing spans 20 categories, GB more than 10 categories, and HR, JP, KR, and US are also broadly affected. Therefore, new entries and movement in monetization charts may appear lower than they actually are. By country, the US has the largest comparison gap, with 66 comparable charts out of 77; GB has 54 of 59, and JP 45 of 51. For attributes, developer is missing in 90,157 records, ratingCount in 90,157, and rating in 3,841, so developer-level concentration analysis and momentum assessments using rating counts cannot be conducted today. The reference date, 2026-08-26, is the oldest archived collection date and falls 24 days before today, so the data does not yet cover a full month.