Submission Guide
Seven Critical Differences Between iOS and Android Screenshots
App Store and Google Play look similar but treat screenshots very differently. Here are the seven differences that matter most when you ship to both stores.
On the surface App Store and Google Play look like equivalent marketplaces, but the way screenshots are produced, displayed, and reviewed is genuinely different. Copy and design that work on one store rarely transfer cleanly to the other. This guide highlights seven differences that consume the most time when teams operate both platforms in parallel.
1. Size rules — fixed values versus ranges
Apple requires exact pixel dimensions per device category. The iPhone 6.9" slot expects exactly 1290 × 2796 px and a single pixel mismatch blocks upload.
Google only specifies a range: at least 1080 px on the long side, no side larger than 7680 px. Apple is an exact-size game, Google is an aspect-ratio game. Reusing the same asset across both stores almost always clips on one side.
2. Card preview area
App Store search results display the first one to three screenshots as a preview card. The first three frames carry most of the click-through weight.
Google Play also surfaces screenshots in the search card but typically shows only one or two and crops them more aggressively, especially for landscape assets.
3. Orientation conventions
iOS apps almost universally default to portrait. Games and a few media apps are the exceptions.
Android has a heavier mix of landscape, especially for games, media, and tablet assets. Play Console itself surfaces landscape assets more comfortably. If you ship to both, plan a portrait master for iOS and a portrait plus landscape pair for Android.
4. Text review — Apple is stricter
Apple rejects screenshots when in-image text differs significantly from the actual app or when marketing claims feel exaggerated. Superlatives like "#1" or "the only" are common rejection reasons.
Google is more permissive about text but still flags overt download prompts or feature claims that the app does not deliver. The safest copy on either store is fact-based: "#1" becomes "1M downloads", "best" becomes "average 5 stars across 1,200 reviews".
5. Device frames — both allow them, conventions differ
Both stores allow device frame mockups, but the expected style is platform-specific. iPhone frames on Play Store assets and Pixel frames on App Store assets feel off and confuse users about which platform the app belongs to.
Pick one of two strategies: platform-correct frames everywhere, or no frames at all. Mixing is the worst option.
6. Where metadata appears
On iOS the app name, rating, and category appear above the screenshot, which slightly compresses the visible screenshot area.
On Android the screenshot occupies more space but competes visually with rating, install count, and other metadata. In-image copy needs heavier weight and contrast to remain legible against that backdrop.
7. ZIP handoff and upload flow
App Store Connect does not accept a single ZIP per device category — each slot has to be dragged in individually. Without clear file naming the slots scramble quickly.
Play Console accepts a multi-file drop and lets you reorder afterward. Operationally it is the smoother of the two.
SSHOT exports a ZIP that preserves submission order, so on App Store Connect you unzip and place files into slots one at a time, and on Play Console you can drop the unzipped batch all at once.
When you operate both stores, the assumption "one set fits both" causes most of the friction. Share the master concept but split the export pipeline so that size and orientation are checked separately for each platform. The first round costs time, but every release after that runs close to automatic.