OpenAI's Sora debuts on iOS with rapid downloads, outpacing ChatGPT

OpenAI’s new video generation app Sora launched on iOS in the United States and Canada on September 30, 2025, and rapidly climbed to the top of the App Store, collecting more than one million downloads across platforms in under five days and registering strong early-week traction on iOS. App intelligence firm Appfigures estimated that Sora recorded 627,000 iOS downloads in its first seven days, slightly ahead of ChatGPT’s 606,000 iOS installs during its own opening week, though ChatGPT’s debut was limited to the United States while Sora’s launch included Canada. Appfigures estimates roughly 45,000 of Sora’s first-week installs came from Canada, meaning Sora’s U.S.-only numbers were about 96 percent of ChatGPT’s first-week figure.

Sora runs on OpenAI’s Sora 2 video model and combines text-to-video generation with a TikTok-style social feed and remix tools. Users upload short “cameos” that can be used to generate new videos featuring their likeness; the app produces ten‑second clips with generated audio and movement. Despite its invite-only rollout and regional limits, Sora saw about 56,000 installs on day one, peaked at roughly 107,800 daily iOS downloads on October 1, and...