An App Store preview video (Apple calls it an app preview) must run 15 to 30 seconds, show only footage captured from your app, and be uploaded at an exact accepted resolution: 886 × 1920 px portrait for every modern iPhone. Use H.264 or ProRes 422 HQ, 30 fps at most, under 500 MB. You get up to three per device size and language.
Below: the size for every device, the encoding settings, the content rules Apple enforces, and how a preview differs from the promo video you post everywhere else.
The short answer
- Length: 15 seconds minimum, 30 seconds maximum.
- iPhone: 886 × 1920 px portrait or 1920 × 886 px landscape, for every iPhone with Face ID or a Dynamic Island.
- iPad: 1200 × 1600 px portrait or 1600 × 1200 px landscape, for every current iPad size.
- Format: .mov, .m4v or .mp4 in H.264, or .mov in ProRes 422 (HQ only). 30 fps at most, 500 MB at most.
- Count: up to 3 per device size and language. They autoplay, muted, before your screenshots.
- Content: screen captures of your app only. No hands, no people holding phones, no device frames.
Size table by device
App Store Connect only accepts the resolutions below. A file at your phone's native screen size, such as 1320 × 2868, won't upload as a preview. Scale it to the accepted size first.
iPhone
| Device group | Portrait (px) | Landscape (px) |
|---|---|---|
| Dynamic Island, large (iPhone Air, 14 Pro Max to 18 Pro Max, 15 and 16 Plus) | 886 × 1920 | 1920 × 886 |
| Dynamic Island, medium (iPhone 14 Pro to 18 Pro, 15, 16, 17) | 886 × 1920 | 1920 × 886 |
| Face ID, large and medium (iPhone X to 14, 16e, 17e) | 886 × 1920 | 1920 × 886 |
| iPhone Duo | 886 × 1920 | 1920 × 886 |
| Home Button, 5.5" (iPhone 6 Plus to 8 Plus) | 1080 × 1920 | 1920 × 1080 |
| Home Button, 4.7" (iPhone 6 to 8, SE 2nd and 3rd gen) | 750 × 1334 | 1334 × 750 |
| Home Button, 4" (iPhone 5 to SE 1st gen) | 1080 × 1920 | 1920 × 1080 |
3.5-inch iPhones don't support previews at all.
iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Vision Pro
| Device | Accepted size (px) |
|---|---|
| iPad 13", 12.9", 11" and 10.5" | 1200 × 1600 portrait or 1600 × 1200 landscape |
| iPad 9.7" | 900 × 1200 portrait or 1200 × 900 landscape |
| Mac | 1920 × 1080, landscape only |
| Apple TV | 1920 × 1080, landscape only |
| Apple Vision Pro | 3840 × 2160, landscape only |
You don't need every row. If your UI looks the same across sizes, Apple says to upload only the highest resolution and it scales down. For most iPhone apps that means one 886 × 1920 set, plus a 1200 × 1600 set if you ship on iPad. Missing sizes fall back to scaled previews from the nearest device group.
Encoding settings
| H.264 | ProRes 422 (HQ only) | |
|---|---|---|
| Container | .mov, .m4v or .mp4 | .mov |
| Bit rate | 10–12 Mbps target | About 220 Mbps VBR |
| Video | Progressive, up to High Profile Level 4.0 | Progressive, no external references |
| Frame rate | 30 fps max | 30 fps max |
| Audio | Stereo AAC, 256 kbps, 44.1 or 48 kHz | Stereo PCM or 256 kbps AAC, 44.1 or 48 kHz |
Audio must be stereo (one 2-channel track or two mono tracks), and every track must be enabled.
After upload, processing can take up to 24 hours. Don't leave the preview for submission day.
How to record the footage
- Simulator. Run your app in Xcode's Simulator and use its Record Screen control, or run
xcrun simctl io booted recordVideo --codec=h264 preview.movin Terminal and press Control-C to stop. Pass--codec=h264: the default is HEVC, which App Store Connect doesn't list for previews. - A real device. Connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac, open QuickTime Player, choose File › New Movie Recording, and pick the device as the camera.
Either way you record at the device's native size, such as 1320 × 2868, so scale to 886 × 1920 and export at 30 fps in your editor. Use clean demo data and no debug overlays.
What Apple allows in the video
Guideline 2.3.4 is short: previews "may only use video screen captures of the app itself." Apple's preview guidance fills in the rest.
Allowed:
- Screen recordings of your real app, from the device or the Simulator.
- Narration, music, and text or design overlays that explain what's on screen.
- Simple transitions. Apple suggests dissolves and fades.
- A disclosure if features need an in-app purchase, a subscription or a login, either in the footage or on the end frame. If any of those apply, it's required.
Not allowed:
- People using a device: no over-the-shoulder shots, no fingers tapping the screen.
- Footage of anything outside your app, such as other apps or lifestyle B-roll.
- Prices. They vary by region, and guideline 2.3.7 rules them out of previews.
- Dated phrases like "new for spring", or a release date.
- Objectionable content of any kind. Previews must be suitable for all ages.
- Material you don't have the rights to, and the names, icons or imagery of other platforms or app stores. That includes music: Apple asks for licensing that covers marketing use in every territory you sell in. A track you licensed for one YouTube video may not.
- For games: more cutscene than gameplay.
Why previews get rejected
Apple's rules above are the official list. In rejection notes developers have shared on Apple's forums, the same few problems come up again and again:
- Device frames. One rejection posted in 2025 reads: "Includes device images and/or device frames." Apple wants the preview to look like the app does on the device in full screen. Run the capture edge to edge.
- Footage that isn't the app. Logo stings, lifestyle shots or a talking head on camera.
- Mocked or edited UI. Screens redrawn in a design tool, or features shown that the build doesn't have.
- A self-promotional ad cut. Claims and calls to action instead of a product tour.
Upload errors are a separate problem, caught before review: a length under 15 or over 30 seconds, a frame rate above 30 fps, a resolution that isn't on the list, or a missing or disabled audio track. If your recorder or editor exports at 60 fps, convert to 30 fps before you upload.
Poster frame, autoplay and order
- Previews come first. On your product page they always sit before your screenshots.
- They autoplay muted, on your product page and in search results. Make the first few seconds work without sound: motion, the core screen, and captions held on screen long enough to read.
- The poster frame defaults to 5 seconds in. You can pick another frame in App Store Connect. It shows whenever the video doesn't autoplay, for example when someone has turned autoplay off. Once a preview is approved, the poster frame is locked: changing it means submitting the preview again.
- Localize. Each language can have its own previews; missing ones fall back to the next best language.
- Order matters. With up to three previews, put the one that sells the app first. You can reorder them in App Store Connect.
- Test it. Product Page Optimization lets you run up to three alternate versions of your page, previews included, against the original. Previews don't help every app, so measure.
App preview vs promo video
They overlap, but they're built for different places.
| App Store preview | Promo video | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it plays | Your App Store product page | Social, your website, Product Hunt, ads |
| Length | 15–30 seconds | Whatever the platform needs; 30 seconds is common |
| Footage | Screen captures of your app only | App footage plus devices, people, brand scenes |
| Size | Exact accepted resolutions | 9:16, 1:1, 4:5 or 16:9 |
| Prices | Not allowed | Allowed |
| Calls to action | Keep them out: overlays should explain the app | Allowed |
| Review | Checked by App Review | No store review |
A good workflow is to make the promo video first, then cut the preview from its screen-capture shots: strip the device frames and brand scenes, and re-export at the accepted size. The mockups that make a promo video look polished are the exact thing that gets a preview rejected, so a preview is a re-edit, not a resize. More on the wider video in our guide to the app promo video.
Google Play works differently again. It takes a YouTube link instead of an uploaded file, so there's no fixed resolution. The details are in our Google Play screenshot sizes guide.
Common questions
Do I need an App Store preview video? No, it's optional. A good one shows motion screenshots can't. A weak one takes the first slot from your best screenshot. If unsure, test it.
Can I upload HEVC (H.265)? No. Apple lists H.264 (.mov, .m4v or .mp4) and ProRes 422 HQ (.mov) only. Screen recordings from the Simulator and many editors default to HEVC, so check the export setting.
Can I show my app on an iPhone mockup? Not in a preview. Device frames are a reported rejection reason. Keep mockups for your promo video and social posts.
Preview checklist
- 15 to 30 seconds, 30 fps or less, under 500 MB.
- Exported at an accepted size: 886 × 1920 for iPhone, 1200 × 1600 for iPad.
- Only captures of your app, edge to edge, no frames or hands.
- Strong first seconds that make sense with the sound off.
- In-app purchase or subscription disclosed, if your app has one.
- No prices or dates, and no calls to action.
- Music licensed for marketing use everywhere you sell.
- Poster frame chosen on purpose.
- Uploaded at least a day before you submit.
Your screenshots sit right behind the preview, so check them too with our App Store screenshot sizes guide, then work through the rest of the app launch checklist.
Get your App Store preview cut for you
We cut App Store previews from your app's real footage: 15 to 30 seconds, exported at the accepted sizes, and checked against Apple's rules before you upload. The App Store Preview cut is a $49 add-on to any plan, and plans start at $99 for a 30-second promo video. See the style in our sample kits, and every kit starts with a free 10-second teaser.