How to make an App Store preview video in 2026
The exact App Preview specs, the rules that get previews rejected, and three ways to make one, from the Simulator to an agent-driven take.
Guide · updated November 11, 2026
An App Preview is the short video that autoplays on your App Store page. Only a small share of apps have one, so a good preview makes your page stand out. It also has the strictest rules of any video you will make.
The specs
| Device class | Portrait | Landscape |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone 6.9", 6.5", 6.3", 6.1" | 886×1920 | 1920×886 |
| iPhone 5.5" | 1080×1920 | 1920×1080 |
| iPad 13", 11" | 1200×1600 | 1600×1200 |
| Mac | 1920×1080 | - |
- Length: 15 to 30 seconds.
- Frame rate: 30 fps or lower.
- Video: H.264 (High profile, level 4.0 or lower, 10-12 Mbps) or ProRes 422 HQ, in .mov, .m4v or .mp4, at most 500 MB.
- Audio: stereo AAC, 256 kbps, 44.1 or 48 kHz. Add a silent track if you have no sound.
- Up to three previews per localisation; the first autoplays.
Check a file against all of this in the browser with our free App Preview checker. Apple's own page is "App preview specifications" in App Store Connect Help.
The rules that cause rejections
- No device frames or hands. Previews must be captures of the app itself (Guideline 2.3.4). A phone mockup around the screen is the most common rejection.
- Only your app. No footage of other apps, the home screen or the real world unless the app shows it.
- No prices or "free". Prices vary by country; leave them out of captions.
- Wrong size or frame rate. A Simulator recording at 60 fps or at the device's native size is refused at upload.
Three ways to make one
1. Record the Simulator yourself
xcrun simctl io booted recordVideo preview.mov records the booted simulator. Tap through the feature, then crop and scale to 886×1920 and re-encode at 30 fps with ffmpeg or an editor. It is free but slow: every retake starts from zero, and zooms or captions are manual work.
2. Use a screen recorder with an editor
Record the Simulator window, add captions and zooms in the editor, export at a custom size. Faster to polish, but you still drive the app by hand and must remember to turn off device frames for the preview.
3. Let your coding agent film it
With ShowTake, ask your agent: "Make an App Store preview of creating a note and sharing it." It builds the app, films a clean take in a fresh simulator at 9:41, zooms on each tap and exports a frameless 886×1920, 30 fps preview that the validator has already checked. Next release, replay the flow in every language you support.
A good preview, step by step
- Open with the main feature in the first three seconds; the poster frame (around 5 s) is what people see before it plays.
- One story, six to eight steps, a short caption per step.
- Realistic data: use a demo mode instead of an empty account.
- Film light mode first; add dark mode as a second preview if it matters to your users.