App Store screenshots that convert

Your screenshots are the largest thing on your App Store listing and, for most searchers, the only part they look at. A great set doesn't document every screen. It makes one promise quickly, proves it, and gives people a reason to tap Get before they scroll past.

This guide walks through the whole process: what shows up in search, how to write captions that sell, how to order a set, when to go landscape or panoramic, how to localize, where App Preview video fits, and how to test changes properly with Apple's own A/B tool. Sizes come at the end, with a link to a free reference tool.

Why screenshots carry so much weight

App Store search results show your icon, name, subtitle, rating and the first screenshots (or your app preview) on one card. Searchers compare several of these cards in a second or two. If your first frames don't explain the app, the next result gets the tap. Your keyword work only gets you onto the screen. Your screenshots decide whether anyone taps.

Apple gives you a lot of room to work with. Here are the numbers from its own specifications:

Having more slots is not the point. In search, only the first slots are visible, so they do almost all the selling. The rest of the set matters to people who open your product page, and those people are already interested.

The first-three rule: win the search result

In search results, a portrait iPhone app usually shows its first three screenshots side by side. A landscape screenshot takes the whole row by itself. If you have an app preview, it plays in place of the first screenshot. So treat the first three frames as a mini-ad that has to work without context, with no description, no reviews and no scrolling.

To pass the first-three test:

• Frame 1 states the core outcome. It says what life looks like with the app, not what the app is called.
• Frames 2 and 3 show the two strongest reasons to choose you, usually the main workflow and the feature competitors don't have.
• Text is readable at thumbnail size. On a real phone each frame is only a few centimeters wide in search, so use a few big words and avoid paragraphs.
• The UI in the frame matches the caption. If the caption says "one tap", the screenshot shows the tap.
• No splash screens or login walls. Guideline 2.3.3 says screenshots must show the app in use, not just title art or a sign-in page.

Write captions as benefits, not features

A caption is a headline. Its job is to translate a screen into a reason to care. Feature captions describe the interface ("Calendar view"). Benefit captions describe the result ("Never double-book a client again"). The screenshot shows the feature, so the caption should state the benefit.

A few rules of thumb hold up across categories:

• Keep it to roughly 3–7 words. Use one idea per frame. If you need "and", you probably need two frames.
• Lead with a verb or an outcome. "Track", "Finish", "Save", "Never miss" read faster than noun stacks.
• Use your customers' words. Read your reviews and competitors' reviews. The phrases people use to praise or complain are often your best headlines.
• Reuse your keywords sparingly and naturally. Apple doesn't document screenshot text as a ranking signal, so the main reason for captions is conversion. If a search phrase also happens to be the clearest benefit, use it.
• Make claims you can back up. "#1 sleep app" or invented ratings can break guideline 2.3 (accurate metadata) and cost you trust even if they get through review.

Order the set like a storyboard

Think of your screenshots as a short story told in frames. Each frame has a job, and the order follows what a new user wants to know: What is it? How does it work? Why this one? Can I trust it?

Some ordering decisions come up again and again:

• Put social proof after the hook, not before. "Loved by 50,000 runners" means little until people know what the app does. Only use real, verifiable numbers and awards.
• Match the order to search intent. If most of your installs come from one keyword theme, open with the frame that answers it. Custom product pages and Product Page Optimization (covered below) let you serve different audiences different orders.
• Close with reassurance. A frame about what is free, offline support or privacy can settle the last doubt for someone who scrolled to the end.

Portrait, landscape and panoramic sets

Portrait is the right default for nearly every iPhone app. It matches how the app is used, and three portrait frames fit in a search result. Landscape makes sense when the app is truly used sideways, such as many games, video tools and some creative apps. One landscape frame fills the whole row in search, so it has to carry the entire message alone.

A panoramic set uses artwork that flows across frame edges, so adjacent screenshots read as one continuous canvas. Done well, it stands out in search and pulls the eye from left to right. Done badly, each frame looks broken when viewed alone, and on the product page people often see one frame at a time.

If you go panoramic, give every frame its own headline and its own complete UI shot. Use the continuous art for the background, not for content you need people to read. And keep the very first frame strong on its own, because it is also the one that appears where only a single image fits.

Where App Preview video fits

An app preview is a short video, between 15 and 30 seconds, that appears before your screenshots. You can add up to three per device size and language. Guideline 2.3.4 says previews may only use video captured from the app itself. Narration and text overlays are fine, but staged footage of people using a phone is not.

A preview is worth making when motion explains the app better than stills, as with games, editing tools, fitness and anything with a satisfying interaction. It is often not worth it for apps whose value is a clean static screen. A weak first second can do more harm than a strong screenshot would.

1. Treat the poster frame as screenshot #1The poster frame is the still image shown before playback, and it defaults to the 5-second mark. Choose it deliberately, because many viewers will only ever see that frame.
2. Show the payoff in the first secondsAssume viewers watch muted and leave early. Open on the result, not on a logo or onboarding.
3. Caption the storyUse short overlays that work without sound, mirroring your screenshot headlines.
4. Mind the specsApp previews use their own accepted resolutions (for example 886 × 1920 portrait for modern iPhones), not device resolutions. App Store Connect can take up to 24 hours to process an upload.

Localize screenshots, not just text

Screenshots can be set per language in App Store Connect. If you translate your title, subtitle and keywords but keep English screenshots, people browsing in German or Japanese still see a product that wasn't made for them. At a minimum, translate the captions. For your biggest markets, go further and localize the content inside the screenshots: currencies, date formats, names, sample data and examples that make sense locally.

Cultural fit matters too. Color meanings, how dense a layout people expect, and whether humor lands all vary by market. Our App Store localization guide covers how to choose markets and adapt creative for each one.

Test changes with Product Page Optimization

Opinions about screenshots are cheap, and data is better. Product Page Optimization (PPO) in App Store Connect lets you test alternate screenshots, app previews and icons against your current page with real App Store traffic.

Key facts from Apple's documentation:

• Up to three treatments per test, compared against your original page.
• A test runs for up to 90 days or until you stop it. You can run one test at a time, and you can't edit a test after it starts.
• Treatments with new screenshots need App Review approval before the test goes live. Tests that don't change the icon don't need a new app version, while alternate icons must be included in the app binary.
• Apple suggests waiting until a treatment reaches at least 90% confidence before you apply it.

Test one big idea at a time, such as a different first-frame promise, a different order or a panoramic versus a single-frame style. Small changes like a slightly different font weight rarely produce a result you can read, especially at indie-app traffic levels. If your traffic is low, use fewer treatments so each one gets enough visitors.

Required sizes and file specs

Apple has changed its required screenshot slots several times as new iPhones launched, so check the current slots in App Store Connect for your app before you export. The practical approach for 2026 is to design one master set at the largest iPhone size, plus a 13-inch iPad set if your app runs on iPad, and let App Store Connect scale down to smaller displays. Apple says that if your UI is consistent across sizes, you only need to provide the highest resolution. At the time of writing, Apple's specification page lists one screenshot for the medium Dynamic Island iPhone class (and one 13-inch iPad screenshot, if you support iPad) as the minimum. Each smaller or older slot falls back to scaled screenshots from a larger class.

• Formats: .png, .jpg or .jpeg, with no transparency or alpha channel.
• Count: 1 to 10 per device size, per language.
• Exact pixels: App Store Connect only accepts the listed dimensions, so "close enough" exports get rejected at upload.

For every accepted size, including landscape, older iPhones, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro and Apple Watch, use our free App Store screenshot sizes reference. Then make sure the rest of your listing is just as ready with the ASO launch checklist.

Frequently asked questions