This increase was driven by Google Play downloads growing by 15.3% in comparison to Q1 2020.
These gains were partially offset by the App Store's downloads decline of 8.6%, which Sensor Tower attributed to "an outsized total
in 1Q20 during the initial spread of COVID-19."
Sensor Tower did not suggest why the tough comparison would apply to the App Store, which saw downloads grow 35% in the first quarter of 2020, but not Google Play, which saw downloads jump 38% in the same quarter.
Among the top mobile games of Q1 was King's Crash Bandicoot: On the Run, which amassed a total of 23.6 million downloads worldwide. That's more than double King's launch performance for 2015's Candy Crush Jelly Saga.