# Portrait or landscape App Store screenshots?

> Markdown version of https://storeglow.app/portrait-vs-landscape-app-store-screenshots/, updated 2026-11-01. Storeglow, https://storeglow.app/

Portrait shows three screenshots in App Store search, landscape one. 98.5% of 2,394 top apps use portrait, 13% of games landscape. Apple's and Google's rules.

Portrait shows three screenshots in App Store search, landscape shows one, bigger. What each orientation gets you, how often 2,394 top apps pick landscape by category, and what Apple and Google say.

By [Marius Gehler](https://storeglow.app/about/) · Published 1 November 2026 · Checked 1 November 2026

**98.5%** of top apps start in portrait

**13%** of top games start in landscape

**1.0%** of all other top apps do

**70%** of the space in search: one landscape screenshot against three portrait ones

**The short answer:** Use portrait unless people hold your app sideways. Portrait puts three screenshots in search and is what nearly every top app does. Landscape pays off when the app itself is landscape (games, video, instruments, kids' apps), because then the screenshot shows the real thing at its real shape.

[What search shows](https://storeglow.app/portrait-vs-landscape-app-store-screenshots/#search)

[What top apps do](https://storeglow.app/portrait-vs-landscape-app-store-screenshots/#top-apps)

[Apple and Google](https://storeglow.app/portrait-vs-landscape-app-store-screenshots/#stores)

[How to decide](https://storeglow.app/portrait-vs-landscape-app-store-screenshots/#decide)

Try both with your own files in the free [App Store search preview](https://storeglow.app/app-store-search-preview/).

## What App Store search shows of each

Portrait set

1 2 3

3 shown · each 111 × 241 pt

Landscape set

1

1 shown · 350 × 161 pt · 70% of the portrait row's area

_One App Store search result on an iPhone, drawn to scale in the shape of the required 6.3" and 6.1" size (1,206 × 2,622). Widths measured by us on an iPhone; Apple publishes none._

A portrait set puts its first three screenshots side by side in search, each about 111 points wide. A landscape first screenshot fills the row alone, about 350 points wide, and the rest of the set stays hidden until someone opens the page. The landscape screenshot is about three times as wide, but the row is lower, so it gets 70% of the space three portrait screenshots get. You trade three messages for one bigger picture: good for a game scene, poor for a story told in three steps ([what goes in the first three](https://storeglow.app/app-store-screenshot-best-practices/)).

## What top apps do

In our [screenshot study](https://storeglow.app/app-store-screenshot-study/) of the top 2,394 free iPhone apps (US charts, 30 October 2026), 36 start with a landscape screenshot. 36% of them are games. The rest are apps people use sideways too: music apps with a keyboard or mixer, video and TV apps, and children's apps.

| Category | Start in landscape | Apps | Highest in the chart |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Games** | 13% | 13 of 100 | Monster Hunter Outlanders, No Man's Sky, Fortnite |
| **Education** | 5% | 5 of 100 | Toca Boca World: Game & Play, Toca Boca Jr: Fun Kids Games, PBS KIDS Games |
| **Music** | 5% | 5 of 100 | Edjing Mix: DJ Music Mixer App, Piano ٞ, Piano for iPhone |
| **Entertainment** | 4% | 4 of 100 | Netflix Game Controller, Hulu: Stream TV shows & movies, YouTube Kids |
| **Weather** | 2% | 2 of 99 | Anwaa, BoatUS - Boat Weather & Tides |
| **Developer Tools** | 2% | 2 of 100 | Kodex, Blink Shell, Build & Code |
| **News** | 1% | 1 of 98 | FREECABLE TV: News & TV Shows |
| **Graphics & Design** | 1% | 1 of 99 | Artmate: Drawing Together |
| **Medical** | 1% | 1 of 100 | Contraction Timer & Counter 9m |
| **Photo & Video** | 1% | 1 of 100 | Blackmagic Camera |
| **Utilities** | 1% | 1 of 100 | Apple Support |
| **The other 13 categories** | 0% | – | – |

16 of the 36 landscape sets still have the 16:9 shape of the old 5.5" iPhone; the others are the longer shape of current iPhones. The study counts the first screenshot's shape; it can't tell how well either converts.

## What Apple and Google say

| Where | Orientation | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **App Store search** | Three portrait screenshots side by side, or one landscape screenshot across the row. | Apple: “Depending on the orientation of your screenshots, the first one to three images will appear in search results when no app preview is available, so make sure these highlight the essence of your app.” |
| **App Store sizes** | The iPhone and iPad classes come in both orientations, e.g. 6.3" and 6.1" as 1,206 × 2,622 or 2,622 × 1,206. | Apple's [screenshot specifications](https://developer.apple.com/help/app-store-connect/reference/app-information/screenshot-specifications) label their sizes “portrait” and “landscape”. Mac, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro: landscape only. |
| **Google Play phone** | 1080 × 1920 (portrait) or 1920 × 1080 (landscape) recommended. Any size from 320 to 3840 px per side, long side at most twice the short side | Google's [preview assets help](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9866151). |
| **Google Play recommendations** | Games need 3 screenshots in 16:9 or 9:16, so portrait counts too. Apps need 4 or more at 1080 px or larger. | Same page: what makes an app or game eligible for the large-format spots. |
| **Google Play tablets** | 9:16 portrait or 16:9 landscape, each side 1080 to 7680 px | Same page. |

Neither store recommends an orientation. Apple says only that search shows one to three screenshots depending on it; Google takes either for phones, tablets and the game recommendations.

## How to decide

1. **How do people hold the app?**: If the app only runs sideways, landscape screenshots show it as it is. Upright app, upright screenshots; turning them for a bigger picture squeezes the interface.
2. **One picture or three messages?**: A game scene or a video frame works as one big picture. An app that needs three steps to explain itself needs three portrait screenshots in search.
3. **Test it**: Product Page Optimization shows up to 3 other versions of your page for up to 90 days, and Google Play's store listing experiments do the same on Android. Neither store says whether a test may switch the orientation.

Storeglow's editor has “App Store landscape” and “Google Play landscape” sizes next to the upright ones, and its checks warn when both orientations of one size are in the export, since they'd land in the same slot. For a landscape game, though, what matters most is a good capture of real play, and any tool can frame that.

## What nobody can tell you

Neither Apple nor Google publishes how orientation affects downloads. The tests that circulate come from ASO vendors, are often years old and point both ways. Your own test is the only number about your app.

Sources: [Apple, Creating your product page](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/product-page/) and [Apple, Screenshot specifications](https://developer.apple.com/help/app-store-connect/reference/app-information/screenshot-specifications), checked 1 November 2026; [Google Play Console Help, Add preview assets](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9866151), checked 28 October 2026. The widths in search are our own measurement on an iPhone. Sizes: [App Store](https://storeglow.app/app-store-screenshot-sizes/) · [Google Play](https://storeglow.app/google-play-screenshot-sizes/).

## Questions

### Should App Store screenshots be portrait or landscape?

Portrait, unless people use your app sideways. Portrait shows three screenshots in search instead of one, and 98.5% of top apps use it. Landscape fits apps that are played or watched sideways: 13% of top games start in landscape, against 1.0% of all other apps.

### How many landscape screenshots show in App Store search?

One. A landscape first screenshot takes the whole row (about 350 points wide on an iPhone), where a portrait set shows three. Apple says only that it depends on the orientation: “Depending on the orientation of your screenshots, the first one to three images will appear in search results when no app preview is available, so make sure these highlight the essence of your app.”

### Can I mix portrait and landscape screenshots in one set?

App Store Connect accepts both sizes in the same slot, and Apple's help pages neither forbid nor describe mixing. Developers have reported since 2016 that a mixed iPad set shows its landscape screenshots turned upright in one view of the App Store app ([Apple Developer Forums](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/62814), no answer from Apple). Keep one orientation per set; on the product page people swipe through screenshots of one height.

### Do games need landscape screenshots on Google Play?

No. To be eligible for Google Play's large-format recommendations, a game needs 3 screenshots in 16:9 or 9:16; Google takes either. Pick the orientation the game is played in.

### What size is a landscape App Store screenshot?

The portrait size turned sideways. For the required 6.3" and 6.1" iPhone size that's 2,622 × 1,206 (or 2,556 × 1,179). Every class is on [App Store screenshot sizes](https://storeglow.app/app-store-screenshot-sizes/).