app store
iOS 27 App Store Header and Search Image Sizes, Explained
The new product page header is 3840×1646 (21:9), search results are 3:2 up to 3840×2560, and one 5244×2950 PNG can fill both. Here's how the crops work, what Apple bans, and the alpha-channel trap.
Starting with iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, the App Store shows two new pieces of artwork: a wide header across the top of your product page and a large search results image. Until now, both spots were filled by your screenshots. The header is 21:9 at exactly 3840 × 1646 px. Search results are 3:2, anywhere from 1920 × 1280 to 3840 × 2560 px. Or you can upload a single 16:9 “universal” PNG at 5244 × 2950 px that Apple crops to fit both. The rest of this post covers the full spec, how one image survives two different crops, and the rules that get assets rejected.
If you’d rather skip ahead, our App Store header & search image generator makes all of these from one design, with the crop overlap drawn on top of the preview.
The full spec
From Apple’s creative assets specifications, as of October 2026:
| Placement | Aspect | Size (px) | Formats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product page header | 21:9 | 3840 × 1646 | .jpeg, .jpg, .png |
| Search results | 3:2 | 1920 × 1280 to 3840 × 2560 | .jpeg, .jpg, .png |
| Header or search (universal) | 16:9 | 5244 × 2950 | .png only |
| In-App Event card | 16:9 | 1920 × 1080 to 3840 × 2160 | .jpeg, .jpg, .png |
| In-App Event details | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 to 2160 × 3840 | .jpeg, .jpg, .png |
A few details that are easy to miss:
- The header has one exact size. Search and event media accept a range, but the 21:9 header must be exactly 3840 × 1646.
- No alpha channels, anywhere. Apple says images “can’t include alpha channels or transparencies.” More on why this catches people below.
- Video works in both slots. Header and search videos use the same pixel sizes, run 5 to 30 seconds at 30 or 60 fps, and come as .mov, .m4v, or .mp4. They autoplay muted and loop. In search results they can’t be unmuted at all, so the video has to make sense without sound. In-App Event videos must be 15 to 30 seconds.
- If you skip search creative, the App Store falls back to your In-App Events, app previews, and screenshots.
- Older iOS versions don’t show any of this. Devices before iOS 27 keep showing screenshots, so you still need those.
One image, two crops
The universal 16:9 image is the convenient option. You upload it once and it fills both placements. The catch is that each placement crops it differently:
- Header (21:9) is wider than 16:9, so it keeps the full width and trims the top and bottom. A centered crop keeps a 5244 × 2248 band and loses about 351 px from each edge.
- Search (3:2) is narrower than 16:9, so it keeps the full height and trims the sides. A centered crop keeps a 4425 × 2950 window and loses about 410 px from each side.
The only area that survives both is where they overlap: a centered 4425 × 2248 rectangle, about 64% of the image. Your headline, icon, and the focal point of any screenshot belong inside it. Everything outside it should be background that can be cut off without anyone noticing.
One caveat: those numbers are our arithmetic, not Apple’s. Apple’s guidance says to keep the focal point centered within a safe area and to design for clipping “across devices and orientations,” but it doesn’t publish crop coordinates. A centered crop to each aspect ratio is the most conservative reading. Leave some extra margin inside it, then check the result in App Store Connect’s product page preview before you submit.
If you want precise control over each placement, skip the universal file and upload the dedicated 21:9 and 3:2 images instead.
The alpha channel trap
“Images can’t include alpha channels” sounds like it only matters if your design has transparent areas. It doesn’t. A PNG can carry an alpha channel even when every pixel is fully opaque, and that’s how browsers save canvas exports and how many design tools save PNGs by default. Upload checks look at the file’s format, not at whether anything is actually see-through.
To fix it, re-export as a PNG with no alpha (RGB, sometimes labeled “24-bit”), or flatten the image in Preview or Photoshop and turn transparency off when saving. Our generator writes RGB PNGs directly, and our screenshot generator now does too.
We also recommend exporting everything as PNG, even where JPEG is allowed. The universal size is PNG-only anyway, and at least one developer reported the live Asset Library accepting only PNG for the header while the documentation also lists JPEG. PNG avoids that question entirely.
What Apple won’t accept
Apple’s asset best practices list content that doesn’t belong in any of these images:
- Specific prices or discounts, website URLs, or copyright symbols
- Logos or mentions of other platforms or marketplaces
- Unverifiable claims, like awards you didn’t actually win
- Apple’s own recognitions: Editors’ Choice, App of the Day, Game of the Day, Apple Design Award
- Anything that wouldn’t pass a 4+ age rating, even if your app is rated higher. For games, action is fine, but avoid gore and weapons pointed at a person or at the viewer.
The same page has some positive advice: focus on one clear idea, design for a first-time visitor, show the real interface or gameplay instead of only a logo, keep text short and localized, and use the same colors and type across your header, search image, and screenshots so they read as one set.
Where to upload them
You can submit these assets alongside a new app version, or on their own through App Store Connect’s new Asset Library. Approved assets appear there along with the placements each one can be used in, and you can also use them on custom product pages and in product page optimization tests. Apple also offers official Figma, Photoshop, Pixelmator, and Sketch templates if you prefer working in a design tool.
Don’t forget the screenshots
The new assets don’t replace screenshots. They still appear on your product page on every iOS version, and they’re the only creative people on iOS 26 and earlier will see. Apple’s screenshot spec now lists iPhone with Dynamic Island (medium display), 1179 × 2556 or 1206 × 2622, as the required iPhone size, and it adds sizes for iPhone Duo: 1398 × 2034 for the outer display and 2007 × 2853 for the inner one. Both Duo sizes are in our App Store screenshot generator, and the app icon sizes guide covers the icon side of a launch.