Apple Watch App Store Screenshot Sizes by Model

That last rule is the one people miss. Pick one size and stick with it.

I read Apple's screenshot specifications page for these numbers. Every size below is copied from it, along with the models Apple lists for each.

Here's the full Apple Watch list from Apple's screenshot specifications:

• 422 × 514 pixels. Ultra 4, Ultra 3.
• 410 × 502 pixels. Ultra 2, Ultra.
• 416 × 496 pixels. Series 12, Series 11, Series 10.
• 396 × 484 pixels. Series 9, Series 8, Series 7.
• 368 × 448 pixels. Series 6, Series 5, Series 4, SE 3, SE 2, SE.
• 312 × 390 pixels. Series 3, Series 2, Series 1.

Apple asks for one of these sizes, not all of them. You choose the one that fits your capture device.

All six are portrait. Apple Watch screenshots have no landscape option.

Compared with iPhone screenshots, these numbers look tiny. A 6.9 inch iPhone screenshot is 1320 × 2868 pixels. The largest watch size is 422 × 514.

That's because each watch size is close to the resolution of the watch display itself.

The small size matters for design. There's very little room, so every element on the screen has to be readable at a glance.

It also means cluttered screens look worse on a watch listing than anywhere else. Pick the simplest, clearest screens your app has.

I worked out the height to width ratio for each size from Apple's numbers.

Most sizes land around 1.22 to 1. The 422 × 514 size is about 1.22. The 396 × 484 and 368 × 448 sizes are also about 1.22.

The Series 10 to 12 size, 416 × 496, is slightly squarer at about 1.19. The oldest size, 312 × 390, is slightly taller at 1.25.

Those differences are small but real. You can't resize one watch screenshot into another size without slight distortion or a small crop.

That's another reason to capture directly at the size you plan to use.

Apple adds one note to the Apple Watch entry, and it's important.

You must use the same screenshot size for Apple Watch consistently across all localizations for the app.

So if your English listing uses 416 × 496, your French, Japanese and Spanish listings must use 416 × 496 too.

It's easy to break when a team localizes in stages. If one language is captured at a newer watch size and another at an older one, the sizes won't match.

Agree on the size before anyone captures. Our guide to localizing app store listings covers the rest of that process.

Apple accepts any one of the six, so the choice is yours.

A sensible default is the size for the newest models you support, so your listing matches current hardware.

If your app is built around a feature of a specific model, use that model's size. An app designed for the Ultra, for example, could use 422 × 514.

Whatever you choose, use it for every screenshot and every language.

Avoid the 312 × 390 size unless you have a reason. It matches Series 1 to 3, the oldest models on Apple's list.

Apple's help page on adding watchOS app information describes the steps.

After creating the app record, you select the Apple Watch tab under Previews and Screenshots. Then you drag your Apple Watch screenshots into the well.

Apple's upload help page adds a detail. You click View All Sizes in Media Manager to upload the required screenshots for watchOS apps.

The same page covers other device sizes and localizations. You choose the language first, then open Media Manager for each one.

Whether you also need iPhone screenshots depends on your app.

Apple's watchOS help page says iOS screenshots are also required for apps with an iOS component, but not for watch only apps.

So if your watch app comes with an iPhone app, you'll need both sets. The iPhone set follows the normal iPhone rules.

If your app runs only on Apple Watch, the watch screenshots are all you need.

That's a real saving for small watch only projects. One set of screenshots at one size covers the whole listing, in each language.

Timing matters with watch screenshots, as with any other.

Apple's upload help page says that once your app is submitted for review and approved, you must create a new version to update the screenshots.

So check your watch screenshots carefully before you submit. Fixing a typo in a caption later means shipping a new version.

There are some review statuses where uploads are still allowed, so check the status before assuming you're locked out.

The simplest habit is a full review of every watch screenshot, in every language, before submission.

Clean captures matter even more on a watch, where every pixel counts.

Capture from the app running at your chosen size, so the output matches Apple's dimensions exactly.

Use realistic data. A workout app should show a plausible workout, not zeros. A weather app should show real looking conditions.

Make sure nothing personal appears, like a real name, message or location.

Check the final pixel size of every file before upload. A capture that is off by even a few pixels won't match any size on Apple's list.

Most App Store screenshot advice assumes a phone. A watch needs a lighter touch.

Show one idea per screenshot. A single metric, a single control or a single notification works better than a busy screen.

Keep text in the app large and short. If the screen needs reading glasses, pick a different screen.

Use your first screenshot for the main reason someone would wear your app on their wrist. That's the one most people will see.

And order the rest as a short story: what it shows, what it does, and why it's better on a wrist than a phone.

Many iPhone listings add captions and backgrounds around the app screen. On a watch, the size makes that harder.

The screenshot is the size of the watch display itself, so there's little room for a caption without shrinking the app screen further.

I checked our own frame list. PlayMockUp's device frames cover phones, tablets, laptops and desktops, but there's no Apple Watch frame.

For watch listings, a clean, uncluttered capture usually says more than a decorated one.

Save captions and frames for your iPhone set, where there's space for them.

If your app also runs on Wear OS, the rules on Google Play are different.

Play has its own requirements for watch screenshots, including shape and content rules. We covered them in our guide to Wear OS screenshots for Google Play.

Don't assume one set works for both stores. The shapes, sizes and rules differ.

Plan both sets together, though. Using the same screens and the same order on both stores keeps your listing consistent for people who switch platforms.

Apple's specifications page says you can upload one to 10 screenshots, in .jpeg, .jpg or .png format.

For a watch app, you rarely need all ten. Most watch apps do a handful of things, and each screenshot should show one of them.

Three to five strong screenshots usually cover a watch app better than ten weak ones.

Also note the file rule on the same page. Images can't include alpha channels or transparencies, so flatten PNG files before upload.

If you design your iPhone and watch sets together, our free screenshot editor handles the phone side.

Watch screenshots are one part of a bigger set of store assets.

If your app also runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV, each has its own sizes. Our guide to which devices need their own screenshots lays out the full picture.

The watch set is often the smallest and quickest to make. That makes it easy to leave until last and rush.

Try the opposite. Make the watch set early, while the app's watch screens are fresh in your mind.

Before you upload, run through this:

• One size only. Pick one of Apple's six watch sizes.
• Same size everywhere. Use it for every localization.
• Exact pixels. Check every file matches the size exactly.
• No transparency. Flatten PNGs or use JPEG.
• Realistic data. No zeros, no placeholder text, nothing personal.
• One idea per image. Keep each screen simple.
• iPhone set if needed. Required if your app has an iOS component.

Tick every box and your watch listing will pass the basic checks the first time.