Device frames can make App Store screenshots feel premium, or get your preview rejected. A clear guide to where frames help, where they hurt, and the rules Apple enforces.
Device frames (the phone bezel drawn around your screenshot) are one of the most debated choices in App Store design. Used well, they add context and polish. Used carelessly, they shrink your UI or trigger a rejection. Here is the practical rule set.
The hard rule: never frame your preview video
The App Store renders your preview inside its own device UI. If you also bake a phone frame into the video, viewers see a phone inside a phone, and Apple may reject it. Always export previews full-bleed. Frames belong to screenshots, not videos.
Where frames help screenshots
- When you want a premium, marketed feel rather than a raw capture.
- When the frame adds useful context: showing a tablet vs phone layout, for instance.
- When you pair the frame with a caption and background as a designed composition.
Where frames hurt
- When the bezel shrinks your UI so much it is illegible at thumbnail size.
- When you use an outdated frame that signals your assets are stale.
- When the frame competes with the screen content for attention.
A frame should serve the screen, never upstage it. If someone notices the bezel before the app, the frame has failed.
– Gregory Lister
Keep frames current
Nothing dates a product page like a three-generations-old device frame. If you use frames, use the current models. prevy ships an up-to-date device frame library precisely so your assets never look like last year's, and keeps the video export frame-free for the App Store.
Written by
Gregory Lister
Co-founder & Head of Growth
Gregory has shipped App Store campaigns for indie apps and venture-backed studios alike. He writes about conversion, ASO, and the unglamorous mechanics of getting people to tap “Get”.