An App Store preview video shows how an app works on its product page. Apple sets duration, file size, format, and resolution, and content guidance favors real recordings of the app over promotional scenes. The preview must make sense without sound because it plays automatically on mute.
Use explainroo to plan the narration and demo sequence. It generates a narrated product demo from a prompt. Its generated scenes are simulated, however, so use it to shape the story, not as the final App Store upload. The final preview should show actual app screens and meet Apple’s upload specifications.
Apple’s video specifications
Apple’s App Store preview specifications list the file requirements. A preview must run for 15 to 30 seconds. Apple uses the frame at 5 seconds as the default poster image, the still image users see before or while the video loads. Make that moment clear and representative of the app.
| Requirement | Accepted specification |
|---|---|
| Video formats | H.264 in .mov, .m4v, or .mp4; ProRes 422 HQ in .mov |
| Video scan | Progressive, meaning each frame contains a complete image rather than alternating image fields |
| H.264 profile | Up to High Profile Level 4.0 |
| Frame rate | Up to 30 frames per second |
| Audio | Stereo AAC at 256 kbps, or PCM for ProRes; 44.1 or 48 kHz sample rate; enable all audio tracks |
| Orientation | Portrait or landscape; macOS and tvOS previews must be landscape |
Apple accepts specific upload dimensions; the file does not need to match each device’s native screen resolution. For iPhone, accepted dimensions include 886 × 1920 portrait or 1920 × 886 landscape for several display classes, 1080 × 1920 or 1920 × 1080 for 5.5-inch and 4-inch slots, and 750 × 1334 or 1334 × 750 for the 4.7-inch slot. The 3.5-inch iPhone slot is not supported.
For iPad, accepted sizes include 1200 × 1600 portrait or 1600 × 1200 landscape for several display classes, plus 900 × 1200 or 1200 × 900 for legacy slots. Mac and Apple TV previews use 1920 × 1080 landscape. Use Apple’s current specification table to choose export dimensions; if an accepted size is missing for a display class, Apple scales from a nearby class.
If your app supports both iPhone and iPad, prepare a separate preview for each platform class. Apple allows up to three previews per app localization, so choose distinct app features rather than making three versions of the same sequence.
Show the real app and keep the story focused
Published guidance for App Store previews recommends using in-app screen recordings. It advises against live-action footage, simulated scenes, and hands operating a device. Keep overlays brief and easy to localize. Avoid prices, discounts, and calls to action. Use only music and visual assets you own or have permission to use. These content recommendations appear in App Store preview guidance; Apple’s technical specification page covers file requirements.
Build the video around one user task. For example, a finance app could show a user categorizing a transaction, then seeing the updated budget. Start with a screen that shows what the app does, show the steps in sequence, and finish with a useful result. Keep text legible on a phone-sized display, and make the visuals understandable with the audio muted. Captions or brief animated highlights can help viewers follow the action without narration.
Show only features that exist in the submitted app. Reviewers compare the preview with how the app works and its product-page description. Showing a feature users cannot access creates a mismatch and increases rejection risk, as explained in this review-guideline overview.
Capture, edit, and check the preview
Record the app running in the simulator or on a device, then export the footage to an accepted size and format. Xcode Simulator can capture a video at exact pixel dimensions with this command:
xcrun simctl io booted recordVideo output.movSimulator footage may differ from real-device performance, especially for graphics-heavy animation, and it cannot capture haptics or camera input. For features that depend on those capabilities, record on a device. QuickTime can record at 60 fps. Check the exported frame rate and convert the video to 30 fps before upload if needed. The App Store preview recording guide describes these capture tradeoffs.
Before upload, confirm the duration and file size, then check the dimensions and codec. Verify the frame rate and audio settings as well. Watch the video at phone size and with the sound off. Check the 5-second poster frame. Confirm that every visible action matches the app and that text remains readable. Upload the finished file through App Store Connect.
Use explainroo to plan the demo and narration
explainroo is a free, open-source kit under the MIT license that works with coding agents such as Claude Code, Codex, Pi, OpenCode, and Gemini CLI. It makes narrated explainer videos and product demos from a description. For an App Store preview, use it to plan a concise narration and sequence of screens before recording the real app.
To try it, give a coding agent that can run shell commands this prompt:
Make me a short explainer video about [describe the app and the user task]. Use explainroo for it: clone, read its AGENTS.md and follow the steps.
The agent creates script.md with the spoken words and scenes.js with instructions for drawing each scene. It then produces an MP4. It can rebuild product screens from an app’s code or website, and it adds narration, music, and timing. Use the script and scene sequence as a planning reference, then record the actual app for the App Store submission. Because explainroo simulates screens and does not edit existing footage, its generated MP4 should not be treated as a compliant final preview.
