App Promo Video in 2026: Store Specs, Trailers and Ads

An app promo video is really three videos. The store preview plays on your App Store or Google Play page and has strict rules. As of 2026, Apple asks for 15 to 30 seconds of footage captured from your app, nothing else, and Google Play takes a YouTube link where only the first 30 seconds autoplay. The social promo (the app trailer) goes on TikTok, Reels and your site, where you can show people, hands and context. The ad hook is 20 seconds or less and wins or loses in the first second. All three start from the same thing: a clean recording on a real device. Here are the current store rules, how to record, and how to cut each one.

Apple App Store app preview specs

From Apple's app preview specifications and its app preview guidelines, as of October 2026:

Spec	Requirement
Length	15 to 30 seconds
How many	Up to 3 per supported device size and language
File types	.mov, .m4v, .mp4 (H.264); .mov (ProRes 422 HQ)
Max file size	500 MB
Max frame rate	30 fps
Orientation	Portrait or landscape on iOS; landscape only for macOS and tvOS
Poster frame	You choose it; the default is the frame at 5 seconds
Processing	Up to 24 hours after upload
Optional?	Yes, app previews are optional

Accepted resolutions (what App Store Connect takes, not your device's screen size):

Device class	Portrait	Landscape
iPhone 6.9", 6.5", 6.1", 5.8" displays	886 x 1920	1920 x 886
iPhone 5.5" and 4" displays	1080 x 1920	1920 x 1080
iPhone 4.7" display	750 x 1334	1334 x 750
iPad 13", 11", 10.5"	1200 x 1600	1600 x 1200
Mac, Apple TV	n/a	1920 x 1080

If your UI is the same across sizes, Apple says you can provide only the highest resolution required and it scales down. Previews also "always appear before screenshots" on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV.

What Apple allows in an app preview

These rules are where most rejected previews go wrong. All quotes from Apple's guidelines page:

• Only your app. "App previews must show only content within the app itself. Don't film people interacting with a device, such as an over-the-shoulder angle or fingers tapping the screen."
• Footage from the device. Previews show your app "using footage captured on device."
• Touch hints are fine. You "may add graphic elements, such as touch hotspots" to show interaction, and should use straightforward transitions that "don't imply functionality that your app doesn't include."
• It plays muted. "By default, app previews play with the sound muted, so consider using copy to add additional context to your footage."
• No prices, no dates. Avoid "seasonal or timely references" and "Don't include specific prices."
• Disclose what costs money. If features need an in-app purchase, a subscription or a login, "you must disclose this," in the footage or the end frame.
• Voice-over and music are allowed. Apple suggests "a single musical score or soundtrack" and high-quality audio for any narration.
• All ages. No violence, adult themes or profanity.
• Poster frame counts. If someone has autoplay off, they see your poster frame. Changing it on an approved preview means submitting a new version.

Apple also notes previews can be used in Apple Ads.

Google Play promo video rules

From Google's Play Console help page, Add preview assets to showcase your app:

Requirements

• One preview video, added as a YouTube URL in the "preview video" field.
• Use the video's own URL, not a playlist or channel URL, and no extra parameters like timecodes.
• "Disable ads for your video to be shown on Google Play." That means turning off monetization on the video.
• "Set your video's privacy setting to public or unlisted. Do not set it to private."
• "Do not use an age-restricted video."
• The video must be embeddable.

Recommendations

• "Keep your videos short and concise because only the first 30 seconds autoplays."
• Show the actual in-app experience "as early as possible within the first 10 seconds."
• "Aim for at least 80% of the video to be representative of the user experience."
• Landscape and portrait both work. "Do not leave black bars on either side of a portrait video."
• Provide a localized video for each market.

Where it plays: "displayed before your screenshots" on your listing, and possibly on home and search pages, where it "may autoplay inline with muted audio up to 30 seconds."

The page doesn't give a maximum length, but with only 30 seconds autoplaying, treat 30 seconds as the real limit.

Record on a real device

Store previews have to be footage from your app, so the recording is the whole video. Record on a real phone, not a mockup.

iPhone and iPad: open Control Center, tap the Record button and wait for the three-second countdown (Apple Support). The recording lands in Photos. Apple's guidelines also suggest capturing footage with QuickTime Player by connecting the device to a Mac.

Android: adb shell screenrecord records the display of devices running Android 4.4 and later to an MPEG-4 file. It stops "automatically at three minutes or the time limit set by --time-limit" (Android Developers).

Before you hit record:

• Use a demo account with realistic data. Real-looking names, photos and numbers. Empty states don't sell.
• Turn on Do Not Disturb. One notification banner ruins a take.
• Charge the phone and clean up the status bar as far as you can: full signal, Wi-Fi on.
• Record one task per clip. Sign up, the core action, the result. Short clips are easier to cut than one long take.
• Move slower than feels natural. Pause on each screen for a beat. You can speed up in the edit; you can't slow down a blur.
• Record more than you need. Three takes of each task.

More on recording technique in how to record a product demo.

App promo video: store preview vs. social promo

Same recording, different rules and different viewers.

	Store preview	Social promo (app trailer)
Who's watching	Someone already on your store page	Someone scrolling past
Job	Confirm the decision to install	Make them stop and look
Footage	Only in-app (Apple); mostly in-app (Google)	Anything: people, hands, context
Length	15 to 30 s	Up to 30 s for a teaser, 20 s for a hook
Frame	Apple's exact resolutions; Play via YouTube	9:16 for TikTok, Reels, Shorts; 4:5 or 1:1 for X and LinkedIn
Sound	Muted by default	Often muted; captions needed
Prices and dates	Not on Apple	Fine

For the store preview, the first seconds should show the core of the app, not a logo. Google's own guidance asks for the in-app experience within 10 seconds. Order the clips like a short demo: open, do the main thing, see the result. Put one line of copy on each clip, since it plays muted.

For the social promo, you can open with the moment before the app (the problem, a person, a place) and then cut to the screen. This is where showing hands on a phone is allowed and often helps, because it tells viewers it's a mobile app at a glance.

A hook for app ads

An ad is a hook: 20 seconds or less, one idea in the first second, one call to action. For apps, a few rules help:

• Open on the result, not the setup. The finished budget, the edited photo, the booked table. Then show how fast you got there.
• One feature per ad. If you have three features worth selling, make three hooks and test them against each other.
• Text big and in the safe zone. On TikTok and Reels, the app's own buttons and your caption sit on top of the video. Keep your copy clear of them.
• Readable muted. Assume no sound. The voice-over is a bonus.
• End on the store. "Free on the App Store" plus your icon, held long enough to read. (On Apple's store preview itself, avoid prices; in ads you set your own copy.)

For more on the format, read how to make a hook video. If you also want a pre-launch teaser, see teaser videos, and for the 16:9 version on your own site, landing page video. The film shots vocabulary helps when you brief the parts filmed off-screen.

Checklist

App Store app preview

• 15 to 30 seconds, 30 fps or less, under 500 MB
• Exported at an accepted resolution (for current large iPhones, 886 x 1920 portrait)
• Only in-app footage; no hands, no over-the-shoulder shots
• On-screen copy for muted viewing; no prices or dates
• In-app purchases, subscriptions or login disclosed
• Poster frame chosen on purpose
• Uploaded at least a day before you need it live

Google Play preview video

• On YouTube, public or unlisted, embeddable, not age-restricted
• Monetization off
• In-app experience within the first 10 seconds
• The first 30 seconds stand on their own
• No black bars on a portrait video
• Plain video URL, no playlist or timecode

Social promo and ad hooks

• 9:16 for TikTok, Reels and Shorts; 4:5 or 1:1 for X and LinkedIn
• One idea in the first second
• Text clear of each platform's buttons and caption
• One call to action

Frequently asked questions

How long can an App Store preview video be?

An App Store app preview must run 15 to 30 seconds, according to Apple's app preview specifications. You can upload up to 3 previews per supported device size and language.

Can you show hands or people in an App Store app preview?

No. Apple's app preview guidelines say previews must show only content within the app and not film people interacting with a device, such as fingers tapping the screen. You may add graphic touch hotspots to show where a tap happens.

What resolution should an iPhone app preview video be?

For current large iPhones (6.9", 6.5", 6.1" and 5.8" displays), App Store Connect accepts 886 x 1920 in portrait or 1920 x 886 in landscape. The file must also be 30 fps or less and under 500 MB.

How do you add a promo video to Google Play?

You add a Google Play preview video as a YouTube URL in the "preview video" field of Play Console. The YouTube video must be public or unlisted, embeddable, not age-restricted and have ads turned off, per Google's help page.

How long should a Google Play promo video be?

About 30 seconds. Google gives no maximum length, but only the first 30 seconds of a Google Play preview video autoplay, so those 30 seconds have to stand on their own.

What is the difference between an app store preview video and an app trailer?

An app store preview plays on your store page for people already deciding to install, and on Apple it may only show in-app footage. An app trailer is a social promo for TikTok, Reels and your site, where you can show people, hands and context to make someone scrolling stop and look.

Do App Store preview videos play with sound?

No. Apple says app previews play with the sound muted by default, so an app preview needs on-screen copy to make sense without audio. Voice-over and music are still allowed for viewers who turn the sound on.

If you've recorded your app on a real device, Demo Editor cuts it into a hook or teaser for your feeds, cropped to what matters, with a file for 9:16, 4:5 and 16:9. It doesn't record your screen for you, and for the App Store preview itself, check the export against Apple's accepted resolutions and content rules before uploading. See how it works.