App preview video specs: App Store sizes, length and rules, and the Google Play video

Preview video rules side by side

From App Store Connect Help «App preview specifications», Apple’s app previews page and App Review Guideline 2.3.4, and Play Console help on preview assets.

App Store app preview size and resolution

Previews are device-specific, like screenshots. For the 6.9-inch, 6.5-inch, 6.3-inch and 6.1-inch iPhone displays, the accepted resolution is the same: 886 × 1920 pixels portrait or 1920 × 886 landscape. If you skip a smaller size, the App Store scales your preview from the next size up, so one set for 6.9-inch displays covers most current iPhones. Older 16:9 iPhones use 1080 × 1920 (5.5-inch) and 750 × 1334 (4.7-inch); 3.5-inch displays do not support previews at all. On iPad, the 13-inch and 11-inch displays accept 1200 × 1600 portrait or 1600 × 1200 landscape, and the 12.9-inch second-generation iPad Pro also takes 900 × 1200. Mac and Apple TV previews are accepted in landscape only.

Length, file and audio requirements

Apple’s requirements are strict and a file that misses one of them will not upload. A preview must be at least 15 seconds and at most 30 seconds long and no larger than 500 MB. Use H.264 (progressive, up to High Profile Level 4.0, target bit rate 10–12 Mbps VBR, as .mov, .m4v or .mp4) or ProRes 422 HQ only (about 220 Mbps, as .mov). The maximum frame rate is 30 frames per second in both formats. Audio must be stereo: 256 kbps AAC for H.264, or PCM or 256 kbps AAC for ProRes, at 44.1 or 48 kHz, with all tracks enabled. The default poster frame is taken at 5 seconds; you can pick another one, but changing the poster frame on an approved preview means submitting a new version of it.

What an App Store preview may show

App Review Guideline 2.3.4 says previews may only use video screen captures of the app itself; you can add narration and video or text overlays to explain what the footage does not. Apple’s app previews page adds the practical rules: do not film people holding the device or fingers tapping the screen, keep the content appropriate for all ages, show more gameplay than cutscenes, and show only material you have the rights to, including music. Because previews autoplay with the sound muted, Apple suggests on-screen copy for context, without seasonal references that date the video and without specific prices, since prices differ by region. If a feature you show needs an in-app purchase, a subscription or a login, you must say so in the footage or the end frame. You can capture footage from a connected iPhone with QuickTime Player on a Mac and edit it in iMovie or Final Cut Pro.

The Google Play preview video

Google Play takes no file upload. You add one preview video by pasting a YouTube video URL, not a playlist or channel, and without extra parameters such as timecodes. The video must be public or unlisted, not age-restricted, embeddable, and have ads disabled: turn off monetization, or upload a version without monetization claims if it uses copyrighted content. The video shows before your screenshots, may autoplay muted for up to 30 seconds on the home and search pages, and for games some sections of Google Play use it in a large format, which is why Google says games in particular should have one. Google recommends showing the real app within the first 10 seconds, keeping at least 80% of the video representative of actual use, no black bars on a portrait video, and a localized video for each market.

Planning a preview that earns its 30 seconds

Both stores autoplay muted, so the first seconds carry the whole message. Apple suggests treating several previews as one story: the first gives an overview, the next ones each show something new. Google asks for the core feature early and the actual experience over title screens and logos. In practice that means opening on the screen that does the job your listing promises, adding one short line of text per scene, and ending on the feature that makes people install. Keep your screenshots consistent with the video, since both sit side by side on the product page; the sizes are in our App Store screenshot sizes guide.

Where Censuus fits

A preview helps people who already reached your store page. Censuus is one way to bring them there: it ranks apps by the visits they draw and by sponsorship, and adding your app is free on the List my app form. Sponsorship raises placement and adds a followed link to your website; details are on the sponsor page. If you already make a preview for Google Play, the same YouTube channel can work harder: see how to promote an app on YouTube and the ASO checklist. We do not promise downloads or store rankings.

Guides for app developers

• App Store and Google Play screenshot sizes: what you must upload
• App icon size for the App Store and Google Play
• App Store in-app events: limits, badges and media sizes
• Google Play feature graphic: size, placement and rules
• App store optimization checklist: what Apple and Google actually say
• Fixing YouTube Error 153 in embedded players