App Store screenshot sizes: every iPhone and iPad spec (2026)

By Sigsten Gustavii· 27 October 2026· 9 min read

The App Store screenshot sizes you must provide in 2026 are one iPhone set at 1179 × 2556 or 1206 × 2622 pixels, and one 13-inch iPad set at 2064 × 2752 or 2048 × 2732 pixels if your app runs on iPad.

Apple's screenshot rules changed shape over the years, and older guides still tell you to make five or six sets. Today Apple asks for far fewer and scales the rest. This page lists every size from Apple's screenshot specifications, says which are required, and covers the file rules and the review rules that catch people out.

The short version

• Required: one or more iPhone screenshots for the Dynamic Island (medium display) class, plus 13-inch iPad screenshots if your app supports iPad.
• How many: at least 1 and up to 10 per device size.
• Formats: .jpeg, .jpg or .png. No alpha channels or transparency.
• Scaling: if your app looks the same across sizes, provide only the highest required resolution and App Store Connect scales it down.
• Coming: Apple says screenshots for iPhone Duo will be required from April 2027 for apps built with the iOS 27.1 SDK or later.

Every iPhone screenshot size

Apple groups iPhones into display classes. Each class accepts one or more exact pixel sizes; if you leave a class out, Apple uses scaled screenshots from a neighbouring class, as the notes in its specification say.

The two rows that look contradictory are both Apple's wording: the Dynamic Island (medium) class is the one Apple lists as required to submit, and the Face ID (large) row is required only when you give no large Dynamic Island set. Providing a medium Dynamic Island set and a large Dynamic Island set covers both.

Every iPad screenshot size

If your app supports iPad, a 13-inch set is required; the other classes are scaled from it if you leave them out.

Borel's apps are made for iPhone, and the same app runs on iPad, so plan for both sets when you publish one.

File rules

• Exact pixels. App Store Connect accepts the listed sizes only, so export at the exact size, not "about" the size.
• JPEG or PNG, and no transparency: flatten PNGs onto a solid background.
• One orientation per set is the clean choice: all portrait or all landscape, matching how the app is used.
• Per language. Each localisation can have its own set; otherwise the default language's screenshots are used.

Common upload problems and their fixes

Most of these show up the moment you upload, before any review, so they cost minutes rather than days. The ones that cost days are the content problems in the next sections.

App preview videos

Previews are short videos that play on your product page. According to Apple's app preview specifications, they are optional, you can upload up to three per device size and language, they always appear before your screenshots, and they can take up to 24 hours to process. Accepted formats are .mov, .m4v and .mp4 in H.264, or .mov in ProRes 422 HQ. A preview in a different aspect ratio from your screenshots shows in a separate section of the page.

Screenshots and App Review

Screenshots are reviewed with the rest of your app. On its App Review page, Apple lists inaccurate screenshots among common issues: they should accurately communicate the app's value and functionality, and text or overlays should highlight the experience, not hide it. In practice that means:

• Show the real app. Not a mock-up of features it does not have, and not only a splash or login screen.
• No other platforms' devices or logos in an iPhone listing.
• No placeholder content in the screenshots any more than in the app itself.
• Keep captions honest. Describe what the screen shows, and leave out prices or features the app does not have.

A screenshot problem usually comes back as Metadata Rejected, which you fix in App Store Connect without a new build. Our post on how long App Store review takes explains each status.

How to design screenshots that work

1. Lead with the main job. The opening screenshot should show the one thing the app does, on the screen where it does it.
2. One idea per screenshot. A short caption above the phone, three to six words, then the screen that proves it.
3. Tell a sequence. Order them the way someone would use the app: open, do the main thing, see the result, the extras.
4. Make text readable at thumbnail size. People see your screenshots small in search results before they see them large.
5. Use real-looking data. A budget app with a believable budget sells better than one with zeros.
6. Localise the captions for the languages you list the app in.

How to make App Store screenshots with Borel, step by step

If you build your app with Borel, the screenshots come from the real app running on Apple's iOS Simulator, so they are accurate by definition.

1. Fill the app with believable data. Ask Borel for sample content so the screens look lived in, with a message like the one below.
2. Open the screens you want on the live iPhone in your browser, pick an iPhone from the device list, and take a screenshot of each one.
3. Press Publish, and in the Your app step upload your screenshots. Borel crops each one to an exact size Apple accepts, such as 1179 × 2556 for the required iPhone class or 2048 × 2732 for iPad, and you can change the crop before it goes to Apple.
4. Check the checklist. The Ready to send page shows whether Apple still needs anything, screenshots included, before you can continue to Apple.
5. Send it. Borel uploads the screenshots with your listing when it builds, signs and uploads the app.

Add realistic sample data for App Store screenshots: three weeks of workouts with varied exercises, a personal record this week, and a streak of 12 days. Keep it removable with one switch in Settings.

The store listing page in Learn covers the rest of the listing, and our post on publishing to the App Store without a Mac covers the whole route.

The bottom line

In 2026 you need far fewer screenshot sets than older guides suggest: at least one iPhone screenshot for the Dynamic Island (medium) class, 1179 × 2556 or 1206 × 2622, and a 13-inch set if your app runs on iPad. Get the pixels exact, skip transparency, show the real app, and let App Store Connect scale the rest. If you are still building the app, start free on Borel: your screenshots will come from a real iOS Simulator, not a mock-up.

Screenshots are the part of a listing I think people rush the most. Show the real app doing its main job, and you are most of the way there.

– Sigsten

Make your iPhone app in Borel

Describe the app you want and see its first screens before you pay anything.