Guide Store guidance checked against Apple's and Google's pages on 27 Oct 2026
Your first App Store screenshot: make the first 3 frames explain your app
In App Store search, your first few screenshots sit next to your name, subtitle and rating, before anyone opens your page. If they don't say what the app is, who it's for and what it gets them, someone scrolling past has no reason to tap.
A job for each of the first three
Short answer- Frame 1
- what it is + what you get
- Frame 2
- the main feature, in use
- Frame 3
- the next reason to install
- Every frame
- one idea, big text, real UI
This split is our advice, not an Apple or Google rule. What the stores say about where screenshots appear is quoted below with links.
Where the first frames show up
This is why the first frames carry more weight than the rest: they're the part of your listing people see without tapping.
Each point is from Apple's or Google's own pages, linked underneath.
App Store
Search shows your first one to three screenshots
Apple's product page guide says that, depending on their orientation, the first one to three screenshots appear in search results when no app preview is available, and to make sure they highlight the essence of your app. Apple's search page adds that your rating and up to three screenshots or app previews may show in search, depending on the platform and image orientation. You can upload up to 10 per device size.
Source: Creating your product page · App Store search · Screenshot specifications
App Store
Name and subtitle sit right next to them
Apple lists the app name, subtitle and screenshots among the parts of your product page that appear in search results. The subtitle, up to 30 characters, is meant to summarise your app in a concise phrase, so it and frame 1 are read together.
Source: App Store search · Creating your product page
App Store, iOS 27
A search-results asset can stand in for them
From iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 you can add a search-results image or video (3:2) instead of the default screenshots. Apple asks for assets that clearly communicate your app's core value and features. Videos there are muted and can't be unmuted. If you don't add one, search shows screenshots and previews by default.
Source: WWDC26: Enhance your presence on the App Store · Creative assets specifications
Google Play
Screenshots can show outside your listing too
Google says screenshots may be displayed throughout Google Play, for instance in search or on the homepage. On your listing a preview video, if you have one, comes before the screenshots. Google's advice for stylised sets: prioritise UI in the first three screenshots as much as possible.
What frame 1 has to say
Three things, in about the time it takes to scroll past: what the app is, who it's for and what they get out of it.
This is our advice. Apple's own wording is to make the first screenshots “highlight the essence of your app”.
Source: Creating your product page
What it is
Name the job, not the brand
Someone scrolling search has never heard of you. Say what the app does in plain words they'd use themselves: “plan dinners”, “count laps”, “split rent”. Your logo and name are already in the row.
Who it's for
Make the right person feel picked out
If the app is for a specific group (beginners, parents, freelancers, people with a particular device or hobby), say so or show it. A niche app that sounds generic loses to the big generic apps.
The outcome
Show what they get, with the UI that does it
Lead with the result for the user, then back it up with the real screen that delivers it. The screenshot under the headline should prove the headline, not show a menu.
Frame 2
The main feature that delivers frame 1's promise, shown in use with realistic data. Someone who was curious after frame 1 should now see how it works.
Frame 3
The next reason to install: a second feature, the thing that makes you different from the obvious alternative, or the answer to the most likely “but does it…?”. In App Store search, frames after the third don't show, so they're mostly for people who already opened your page.
Headline rules
The headline does most of the explaining, because a shrunk-down screen rarely can on its own.
Rules with a source link quote the store's guidance; the rest are our advice.
Outcome first, feature second
“Know what to cook every night” beats “Smart meal planner with AI”. Name the feature only if the user already searches for it by that name.
Short enough to read in a search row
Write it, then view it at the size of a search result on a phone. If you have to squint, cut words. Google advises against small-font text and busy backgrounds behind text, and says taglines on Play screenshots shouldn't take up more than 20% of the image.
One idea per frame
Frames 1 to 3 should each make a different point. Apple's guide says to focus each screenshot after the first on a main benefit or feature.
Source: Creating your product page
The UI has to match the words
If the headline says “split a bill in one tap”, the screen below should be that tap. Apple's 2.3.3 help page says screenshots must show your actual app in use and warns against overlays that crowd out the app.
Source: App Review Help: 2.3.3
No ranking words or calls to action
Google asks you not to use words like “Best”, “#1”, “Top”, “New” or “Million Downloads” in screenshots, and to avoid calls to action like “Download now”. They also use up words you need.
Don't just repeat the subtitle
Google recommends avoiding duplicated messaging across the short description, screenshots and feature graphic, because they may be shown side by side. Use frame 1 to add the outcome, not to restate the line next to it.
Before and after
These are made-up examples for fictional apps. They aren't real apps or real listings, and no results are implied.
| Fictional app | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| A meal-planning app (fictional) | “Welcome to the app” | “Dinner planned for the week in 5 minutes”Says what it does and what you get. Pair it with the week view, not the sign-up screen. |
| A plant-care reminder app (fictional) | “Smart reminders, sync, widgets, dark mode” | “Never forget to water a plant again”A feature list becomes one outcome. The features can each get their own later frame. |
| A guitar practice log for beginners (fictional) | “Track. Improve. Repeat.” | “See your guitar practice add up, day by day”A slogan that fits any app becomes one that names the instrument and the person it's for. |
Self-check before you upload
Two minutes, no tools. The first item is the important one: someone who isn't you, looking for five seconds.
- Show frame 1 to someone who hasn't seen the app for five seconds, then ask what the app does and who it's for. If they can't say, rewrite it.
- Shrink frames 1 to 3 to search-result size on a phone and read the headlines. Every word should still be legible.
- Frame 1 shows the app in use, not a logo, splash or login screen.
- Frames 1, 2 and 3 each make a different point, in order of what a new user cares about.
- Every headline is backed up by the screen under it, and that screen matches the current version of the app.
- No “Best”, “#1”, prices, or “Download now”.
- Read the name, subtitle (or Play short description) and frame 1 together. They should add up, not repeat each other.
Common first-frame mistakes
Logo or splash screen first
The first slot is the most valuable one and a logo says nothing about what the app does. Apple's guideline 2.3.3 says screenshots should show the app in use, “not merely the title art, login page, or splash screen”, and App Review only approves sets where more than half of the screenshots for each device show the app in use.
Source: App Review Help: 2.3.3
Settings, login or empty screens
These are the easiest screens to capture and the least convincing. Fill the app with realistic sample data and capture the screen where the result happens.
Tiny UI text as the message
A full-screen capture shrunk into a search row turns into texture. Crop or zoom into the part that matters and let a short headline carry the message. Google warns that small text won't be visible on many phone screens.
A feature list on frame 1
Five features in one frame means none of them gets read. Pick the one outcome that makes people tap and spread the rest across later frames. Apple's guide suggests focusing each screenshot after the first on a main benefit or feature.
Source: Creating your product page
A device frame with no app in it
Apple's 2.3.3 help page says not to show only the hardware, or an overlay with no app interface behind it. Google also suggests avoiding device imagery, since it can become obsolete quickly.
Source: App Review Help: 2.3.3 · Play Console Help: preview assets
Check your first frames
Rather hand it off? The ShipListing makeover is $149 per app: the full screenshot set for both stores, first frames included, with listing text. You review it and upload it yourself. See the makeover
More guides: Low conversion rate? Find the leak · Screenshot rejections · Screenshot sizes · Google Play feature graphic.
Questions
- How many screenshots show in App Store search results?
- Up to three. Apple says the first one to three screenshots appear in search results when no app preview is available, depending on their orientation, and that up to three screenshots or app previews may display depending on the platform and image orientation. Apple doesn't give an exact count per orientation on these pages, so check your own listing in search on an iPhone.
- Can my first screenshot be my logo or a splash screen?
- It can be one of your screenshots, but it's a weak first frame. Apple's guideline 2.3.3 says screenshots should show the app in use, not merely the title art, login page or splash screen, and App Review approves only sets where more than half of the screenshots for each device show the app in use. Splash screens and marketing text are allowed as long as that majority holds.
- How long should a screenshot headline be?
- Apple's screenshot pages don't set a word limit. Google says taglines on Play screenshots shouldn't take up more than 20% of the image and warns against small font sizes. A practical test: if you can't read it at search-result size on a phone, it's too long.
- Does an app preview video change what people see first?
- On the App Store, Apple says the first screenshots appear in search results when no app preview is available, and previews autoplay with muted audio on the product page, so the first few seconds need to work without sound. On Google Play the preview video is shown before your screenshots on the listing and may autoplay muted for up to 30 seconds.
- What is the new App Store search results asset?
- From iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 you can add a 3:2 image or video for search results instead of the default screenshots. Apple asks that it clearly communicates your app's core value and features. Videos in search results are muted and can't be unmuted. Without one, search shows your screenshots and previews by default, so the first three frames still matter.
- Do the same rules apply on Google Play?
- Mostly. Google says screenshots may appear in search or on the homepage as well as your listing, asks you to prioritise UI in the first three screenshots for stylised sets, keeps taglines to at most 20% of the image, and asks you to avoid calls to action and words like “Best” or “#1”. The feature graphic and short description are separate assets with their own guidance.
Sources, last checked 27 Oct 2026: Apple, Creating your product page · Apple, App Store search · Apple, App Review Help 2.3.3 · Apple, Screenshot specifications · Apple, Creative assets specifications · Apple, WWDC26 “Enhance your presence on the App Store” · Apple, What's new in App Store · Google, Play Console Help: Add preview assets. Both stores change these pages without notice. Spotted something out of date? hello@shiplisting.app. ShipListing isn't affiliated with Apple or Google.