How to Make App Store Screenshots (Step-by-Step, 2026)

App Store screenshots are the single most important visual asset in your listing — more people see them than ever install your app, and on a phone search result they decide whether someone taps “Get” or keeps scrolling. Yet most developers treat them as an afterthought: a raw simulator capture, uploaded at the last minute. This guide walks through how to make App Store screenshots properly, step by step, whether you do it by hand or with an app store screenshot generator.

Step 1 — Capture clean source screens

Start from the highest-quality raw screens you can get. Use a real device or the simulator at the native resolution of your master device (the 6.9-inch iPhone for iOS). Before you capture:

• Fill the app with realistic, attractive demo data — never lorem ipsum or empty states.
• Hide or freeze the status bar so battery, time, and signal are consistent across the set.
• Turn off any debug banners, notifications, or test overlays.
• Capture more screens than you need — you'll cut down to the best 3–5 later.

Step 2 — Pick the right dimensions

Each store requires exact pixel sizes, and a single wrong dimension means the upload fails. For 2026 the masters are the 6.9-inch iPhone (1320×2868) and the 13-inch iPad (2064×2752) on the App Store, and 1080×1920 phones on Google Play. We cover every device class — including the optional and legacy sizes — in the complete screenshot size guide.

Step 3 — Write the headlines first

The biggest mistake is designing the layout before writing the copy. The headline is the thing people actually read, so write it first and design around it. Good screenshot headlines are short, benefit-led, and readable at thumbnail size:

• Lead with the outcome. “Track 200+ habits” beats “Powerful habit tracking.”
• One idea per screenshot. Don't cram three features onto one frame.
• Keep it under ~6 words. Anything longer is unreadable in a phone search result.

Step 4 — Compose the layout

Now place your real screen inside a frame, add the headline, and choose a background. A few rules that consistently hold up:

• Show the app, not a brand card. The first screenshot should show what the app does — not a logo splash.
• Keep the device upright or at a slight tilt. Extreme 3D angles age badly and hide UI.
• Use a consistent palette across the set. A cohesive 3–5 image story looks far more professional than five unrelated designs.

Step 5 — Export at exact size and upload

Export each frame as PNG or high-quality JPEG, in RGB, with no transparency, under 8 MB, at the exact pixel dimensions for the device class. Upload at least 2 and up to 10 per device in App Store Connect or the Play Console. Then preview them on an actual phone before submitting — a layout that looks great at 100% often falls apart at thumbnail scale.

The fast way

Doing all five steps by hand in Figma or Photoshop takes hours per language and breaks every time Apple changes a dimension. An AI app store screenshot generator collapses steps 3–5: you drop in raw screens, it drafts headlines, composes a cohesive set with a planned palette and typography, and exports every image at the correct size for the store and device you picked.

Last updated May 2026.