OpenAI's Sora app finally hits Android — Users in select countries can now add to the pile of AI-generated videos

I have good news for Android users who love generating AI images; OpenAI's Sora tool is now available to download for free from the Google Play Store. It's available for users from the US, Canada, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The announcement from the Sora X account was accompanied by a Sora-generated video of an alien speaking with a newscaster, stating that the Sora app is now available on Android.

Sora has had its fair share of controversy since it originally launched in 2024, but it was the September 2025 update that brought the AI tool into the spotlight for many people.

OpenAI introduced the world to Sora 2 on September 30, and with it came a new Sora social app, similar to TikTok, for sharing created content. Unfortunately, the Sora app was only available on iOS until today.

Considering Android makes up roughly 70% of the world's phone market, that's a lot of users who didn't get the full experience through the app. Some might refer to Sora's creations as "AI slop," but one look at Sora 2's images proves that the slop part is quickly disappearing.

Sora 2 can create unbelievably accurate videos, and it can carry out detailed prompts and instructions. The OpenAI team, at launch, likened Sora 2 to the "GPT 3.5 moment for videos," hearkening back to ChatGPT's monumental March 2022 update.

The Sora app is designed around social elements, creating an algorithmic bubble of AI-generated content that you can endlessly scroll to your heart's desire. It allows for clips up to 10 seconds long, but there's no option to upload your own videos or photos; it's all AI.

Should you want yourself or your friends to be featured in your AI videos, Sora is happy to oblige. What were once called "deepfakes" are now called "cameos" in the Sora world. You just have to confirm your identity in the app and choose whether or not your likeness can be used by your friends.

Access to Sora 2 via the web or the Sora app was, until recently, available only with an invite. That changed a few days ago, when ChatGPT opened the gates to users in the US, Canada, South Korea, and Japan. Users from the listed countries will have limited-time access, but it's a great way to jump in and see for yourself what Sora 2 can do.

What makes OpenAI's Sora image generator so controversial?

OpenAI launched Sora at the beginning of 2024, which CEO Sam Altman explained during an interview with Bill Gates was one of the top requests from ChatGPT's user base.

Sora's capabilities, despite not being nearly as good as Sora 2, were enough to send shockwaves through the creative industry. Although OpenAI was quiet about sharing the content it used to train Sora, reports began emerging about the use of game content, including that from Minecraft, Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, and more.

It was also revealed this week that Japanese IP holders represented by the Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) have demanded that OpenAI stop using their content to train its AI.

Members include the legendary Studio Ghibli — the animation studio that created Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and Howl's Moving Castle — as well as video game publishers Bandai Namco and Square Enix.

I suspect that the legal battles between content creators and AI firms using that content to train their models are only beginning, especially as image generators like Sora continue to improve in quality.

It's already fairly easy to create a short AI clip that is indistinguishable from actual human-created content, and it's not hard to imagine those abilities growing into full-length features that anyone can tap.

Elsewhere in the AI world, Microsoft just launched its first custom AI image creator on Bing. MAI-Image-1 is what it's called, and it's available through the Bing Image Creator and Copilot Audio Expressions.

MAI-Image-1 isn't yet available in the EU, but it is expected to launch there soon.

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