OpenAI's ChatGPT was the most downloaded free iPhone app in the United Arab Emirates in 2025, according to Apple's year-end App Store assessment, underscoring the rapid uptake of generative artificial intelligence on mobile devices across the region. The listing displaced Chinese shopping platform Temu, which fell to seventh place in the UAE ranking. [1][2]
The UAE's top downloads list remained dominated by social platforms, with WhatsApp, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat among the most-used apps, while Google's Gemini was the only other AI-focused app to break into the top 10, at sixth. Apple’s current top-apps metrics , which factor downloads, earnings, engagement, reviews and search relevance , showed ChatGPT sitting fourth in live rankings behind Dubai Police, Google Gemini and delivery platform Keeta. [1][2]
On iPad, ChatGPT also ranked as the most downloaded free app for 2025 in the UAE, while paid charts highlighted locally relevant titles: Salatuk, an Islamic prayer-timing service, featured among the top paid apps and regional game Tarbaa placed in paid-games lists. Among paid utilities, proxy client Shadowrocket led the paid-app rankings. These placements signal both global and local demand shaping app-store behaviour in the Middle East. [1][2]
Industry context underlines why Apple pays close attention to app trends. According to Apple data cited in the year-end review, the App Store is a cornerstone of the company’s services business and its wider hardware ecosystem; industry estimates put the platform’s registered developers at roughly 30 million worldwide and developer billings and sales at about $1.3 trillion in 2024. Apple executives have described the Middle East as a high-potential market for developer talent and start-up growth. [1]
Apple’s move into generative AI has been prominent in explanations for ChatGPT’s surge. The company teamed up with OpenAI last year and later launched Apple Intelligence, signalling that smartphone makers are racing to embed advanced AI features to retain and grow user bases. The National’s reporting notes this partnership while retaining editorial distance from corporate claims about product impact. [1]
The UAE rankings mirror wider global momentum. Other outlets reported ChatGPT topped Apple’s US free-app chart and that during 2025 the app was among the most-downloaded worldwide, with industry tallies putting installs in the hundreds of millions and surpassing long-standing social leaders such as TikTok and Instagram in monthly and annual download counts. Those global figures, driven in part by capability upgrades to ChatGPT’s multimodal and image-generation features, suggest the app’s appeal extends well beyond one market. [3][4][5]
Apple’s year‑end lists also reflected its ongoing relationship with developers and the wider app economy: the company announced 17 winners in its 2025 App Store Awards earlier this month, with task-and-planning assistant Tiimo named iPhone app of the year. The combination of award recognition, heavy download volumes for AI tools and continuing investment from major platform owners illustrates how generative AI has become central to consumer app behaviour and platform strategies heading into 2026. [1][3][5]
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##Reference Map:
- [1] (The National) - Paragraph 1, Paragraph 2, Paragraph 3, Paragraph 4, Paragraph 5, Paragraph 7
- [2] (The National , summary) - Paragraph 1, Paragraph 2, Paragraph 3
- [3] (MacRumors) - Paragraph 6, Paragraph 7
- [4] (Gulf News) - Paragraph 6
- [5] (TechCrunch) - Paragraph 6, Paragraph 7
Source: Noah Wire Services