Another week another app ascending to the top of the chart from seemingly nowhere. That's Voilà, a fairly new app (released in March) with a not-so-new concept of turning pictures of faces into cartoons.
I gave Voilà a go expecting it to be just like every app that promised a beautiful result but falling short with my own pictures, and I'm surprised to say Voilà actually delivered.
The app also asked for a ton of permissions and tracking, but that's pretty standard for these things now...
Unlike other overnight successes, Voilà's rise didn't happen overnight.
Downloads have been growing consistently since the end of May, from just a few hundreds to over 480K across the App Store and Google Play on Wednesday, the app's biggest day of downloads, according to our App Intelligence.
This isn't the first or last time a face changer goes viral for a bit. While nice, I expect Voilà to follow the same trend and see its days of glory end next week. But... with kids out of school, it's possible downloads will continue to rain for longer.
Is this a trend? This app, no. The volatility of the top of the charts, absolutely. One thing I love about the App Store is how sensitive its algorithm. That's, of course, a double-edged sword because easy come easy go, but the ability to gain popularity fast is a benefit to both users and developers.
The same seven apps held the same seven download spots. Revenue told a different story, and a short-drama app from Singapore crashed the top 10.
MLB app downloads jumped 43% this February while revenue climbed to $3.5M, signaling a stronger season ahead for baseball on mobile.