ASO screenshots are the images on your App Store or Google Play product page. They are the part of the listing most people actually look at. Search results show the first frames before anyone opens the full page, so those frames have to say what the app does and why it is worth installing.

This page is the short version: what the screenshots are for, ten practices, the sizes to export, and a checklist. The step-by-step build, including type, layout, and the same five-frame order, is in how to create App Store screenshots that convert. Caption lines are in the screenshot copy guide.

What ASO screenshots do

They explain the app. A title can hold about 30 characters. A screenshot can show the outcome, the screen that proves it, and the result.

They decide the tap. On both stores, the first frames appear in search and on the product page. If frame 1 does not match the search, people move on.

They can be tested. Apple’s Product Page Optimization compares treatments on the App Store. Google Play’s store listing experiments do the same for Play. A short internal comparison of custom product pages and Product Page Optimization is here: custom product pages and PPO.

They support the rest of the listing. Captions should say the same thing as the title and subtitle. Apple can consider text in screenshots, so write for the reader first and keep the phrase consistent with your metadata. A caption is not a second keyword field.

10 practices

1. Use the five-frame order, and finish the first three

The full conversion guide uses one job per frame. Use the same order here so the two pages do not tell you to build two different sets.

Frame	Job	What belongs here
1	Promise	The strongest outcome. This is what search shows.
2	Proof	The one screen that makes the promise believable.
3	Payoff	The result, progress, or “after” state.
4	Trust	A rating, review excerpt, or user count, and only if it is real.
5	Invite	Who it is for, or a calm next step.

Apple allows up to 10 screenshots. Google Play allows 2 to 8 per device type. Frames 4 and 5 still matter on the product page. Most of the work belongs in 1 to 3, because that is what search shows.

2. Write the benefit, not the feature name

The lines below are examples of the rewrite, not copy from a live listing.

Weak caption	Stronger caption
Advanced Dashboard	Track Your Progress Instantly
Push Notifications	Never Miss an Important Update
Cloud Sync	Pick Up Where You Left Off
Analytics	See Exactly Where Your Money Goes
User Profiles	Built for You and Your Team

If you cannot finish “After I install this, I will be able to…”, the line is still a feature label. The screenshot copy guide covers the sentence itself.

3. Keep the headline to 4–7 words

Search shrinks the screenshot to a strip about 200 pixels wide. One headline, high contrast, and an optional shorter line under it. Two type styles for the whole set. Hairline weights disappear at that size.

4. Show the real app

App Store Review Guideline 2.3.3 expects screenshots to show the app in use. A splash screen, a login wall, or a marketing collage with no interface is the wrong frame. The UI in the screenshot should be the UI someone gets after install.

5. Match frame 1 to the search

Someone who searched “expense tracker” should see an expense tracker in the caption and in the interface. The title, subtitle, and first frame should name the same job. A clever line that hides the category makes the listing harder to understand in the half-second search allows.

6. Keep one visual system

One device, one palette, one type system, from frame 1 through the last frame. A set that changes fonts or background color on every slide reads as five different apps.

7. Use current device frames

Outdated bezels make a current app look abandoned. Device mockups are for the frame around a real screen, not a substitute for the interface. Export sizes are in the screenshot size guide.

8. One phrase per frame

Each frame gets one relevant phrase. A caption stuffed with extra keywords is harder to read at thumbnail size, and it pulls the set away from the single story in your title and subtitle.

9. Localize the markets that already send traffic

Translate captions for the storefronts where you already have impressions. English-only text on a listing that ranks in another language wastes those impressions. Localization for store metadata and screenshot text lives at app store localization.

10. Test one change at a time

Change frame 1, or one caption, and leave the rest of the set alone. Run the test for a few weeks so the result is not a weekend of noise. Apple’s Product Page Optimization and Play’s store listing experiments are the native way to do that. A second change in the same test makes the winner impossible to explain.

Sizes to export

These are the sizes to design first in 2026. Apple also accepts other pixel sizes in the same display class, so check the screenshot size guide before you export a full matrix. Official specs: Apple screenshot specifications and Google Play screenshot requirements.

Store	Display	Portrait size to design
App Store	iPhone 6.9”	1320 × 2868 (1290 × 2796 and 1260 × 2736 are also accepted)
App Store	iPad 13”	2064 × 2752 (2048 × 2732 is also accepted)
Google Play	Phone	1080 × 1920 recommended

Mistakes that get the set ignored

Mistake	What to do instead
Feature labels (“Advanced analytics”)	Name the outcome in 4–7 words
Splash screen or login wall in frame 1	Show the screen that delivers the promise
A different font or palette on every frame	One device, one palette, one type system
Ten frames, with the story starting at frame 6	Put the outcome, proof, and payoff in the first three
Changing three things in one test	Change frame 1, then wait

Pre-publish checklist

• Frame 1 states one outcome in 4–7 words
• Frames 1–3 follow promise, proof, and payoff, and show the real UI
• The headline is readable at about 200 pixels wide
• The same device, palette, and type run through the set
• Title, subtitle, and screenshots tell one story
• Captions are localized for the storefronts that already send traffic
• One test is queued, and it changes only frame 1 or one caption
• The export matches the size for that device class

Build your set

Build the frames in the App Store screenshot generator, or start from an App Store template. When the screenshots are on the live listing, run Analyze My App and read the first three frames the way a search result shows them.

FAQ

What are ASO screenshots?

ASO screenshots are the images on your App Store or Google Play listing. They explain the outcome of the app and give someone a reason to install. Search results show the first frames before the rest of the page.

What are the best practices for app store screenshots?

Lead with one outcome in frame 1, prove it in frame 2, and show the payoff in frame 3. Use a short benefit caption, the real app UI, one visual system, and a single test at a time. The full sequence is promise, proof, payoff, trust, and invite.

How many screenshots should I upload?

Apple allows up to 10 screenshots per device size. Google Play allows 2 to 8 per device type. Most people only see the first three, so finish those before you fill the rest of the set.

Do screenshots affect App Store rankings?

Screenshots are not a keyword field. They change whether someone installs after the store already showed your app. Apple and Google both let you test creatives, and a higher install rate gives the store less reason to stop showing the listing.

What tool can I use to make ASO screenshots?

Nakxi’s App Store screenshot generator builds editable App Store and Google Play sets from your screens, with captions and device frames. Start from an App Store template and check the live listing with Analyze My App.