Google’s Gemini app has achieved a major milestone: its iOS revenue for 2025 has crossed $6.3 million, largely driven by the runaway popularity of its image-editing model Nano Banana.
What is Nano Banana and Why It’s Driving Growth
- What it does: Nano Banana (also known as Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) is Google’s image generation and editing model. It allows users to edit or generate images based on text prompts, with features like subject consistency, style transformations, 3D figurine-like creations, background changes, etc.
- Launch and reception: Released August 2025, the model quickly went viral, thanks to shareable results and engaging prompts. Over 500 million images have been processed using Nano Banana globally.
Breaking Down the Revenue Numbers
- Gemini’s iOS revenue in 2025 has hit $6.3 million to date.
- In August alone, after Nano Banana’s debut (August 26), the app earned ~$1.6 million.
- Earlier in the year, iOS revenue was much lower: for example, January’s revenue was about $115,000. That means the revenue has grown by ~1,291% from that baseline.
- For September (so far), Gemini has earned about $792,000 on iOS, suggesting it may match or exceed August’s total.
User & Download Growth That Accompanies This Surge
- Since launching Nano Banana, Gemini added 23 million first-time users across platforms.
- Gemini has been downloaded over 103.7 million times in 2025 (iOS + Android) and total downloads since its initial launch stand above 185.4 million.
- These user growth signals are correlating with higher monetization—premium features or upgrade paths tied to image-editing limits, etc.
What This Means in the Broader AI/Apps Landscape
- Competition intensifies: With Gemini gaining revenue and users sharply after Nano Banana, Google is positioning itself as a strong rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, especially in creative/visual AI app space.
- Viral features matter: The success of Nano Banana underscores how strong, easily shareable creative features can drive engagement, downloads, and paying users.
- Monetization ramping up: The leap from low base revenue to millions in a few months suggests that Gemini has found pathways to monetize more aggressively (or more successfully) post-Nano Banana.
Challenges & What to Watch
- Retention & churn: New users may try Nano Banana for its novelty; keeping them long term (beyond trend cycles) will matter.
- Platform vs Android vs iOS split: The $6.3M figure is iOS only. Android monetization patterns might differ due to fragmented platforms, payment behaviors, etc. TechCrunch
- Content & policy risks: Viral image-generation features often face scrutiny (deepfake risks, copyright issues, etc.). Google will need to manage moderation and trust.
- Sustaining features & innovation: To avoid the “one-hit wonder” effect, Google will need continued feature updates, better UX, and possibly integration with other generative tools.
Conclusion
Google Gemini’s revenue crossing $6.3 million on iOS so far in 2025 marks a significant proof point: when paired with a viral, creative tool like Nano Banana, growth and monetization can accelerate rapidly. As creative AI features become central to mass adoption, Gemini is showing that early momentum can translate into real revenue—but sustaining that lead will require careful product, policy, and business strategy.
