Screenshots, Templates & Xcode Capture Guide

Xcode Simulator to an editable store campaign

If your iOS app runs in Xcode Simulator, capture the actual interface as PNG files, place those captures into an AppDrift collection, then export a reviewed campaign. This is a file workflow: AppDrift does not connect to Xcode, run your app or capture screens automatically.

You need Xcode with an installed iOS Simulator runtime, a running build of your app, and desktop access to AppDrift. Use sample data you are allowed to show publicly. A free AppDrift account can save and export Free designs; Pro collections keep their separate access requirement.

Run the app and choose the state to show. Open your app in Simulator, complete any onboarding and navigate to the intended screen. Wait for loading indicators, alerts and temporary notifications to clear. Capture the app’s interface rather than the Simulator window with a desktop screenshot.
Capture an ordered PNG set. Run the commands below in your app project folder. Copy the booted device’s identifier from the first command and replace YOUR-SIMULATOR-UDID. Use an explicit identifier when more than one Simulator is running. Move to the next app screen and change 01-home.png to 02-detail.png, then repeat.

xcrun simctl list devices booted
mkdir -p store-captures/en-US
xcrun simctl io YOUR-SIMULATOR-UDID screenshot --type=png store-captures/en-US/01-home.png
sips -g format -g pixelWidth -g pixelHeight store-captures/en-US/01-home.png

Choose a new filename for each capture so you keep the previous screen. A PNG from an iPhone 16 Pro Simulator is 1206 × 2622 pixels; another simulated device can produce different dimensions. Keep those original pixels for editing. Capture other languages from the localized app itself when the UI changes.

Build the campaign. Preview the collections and choose one that fits your app. In the editor, select each phone and use Change Screenshot to upload the matching capture. Replace any separate detail crops, sample branding and captions. Pick the final device size separately from the capture device.
Save and inspect the export. Name and save the project. Choose Export and select the needed device and language variants. AppDrift downloads app-screenshots.zip containing JPEG images. Extract it, open every image and inspect text, screen order, crop, locale and pixel dimensions. The Simulator source PNGs and the final campaign JPEGs are different files.
Upload the reviewed files. For a manual iOS handoff, open the intended app version and language in App Store Connect, then add the extracted images to the matching device-size well. Check the uploaded previews and their order before saving. Keep app submission and release as deliberate later steps. AppDrift’s separate paid Upload to App Store action is explained below.

Match the final files to Apple’s current screenshot specifications. Apple accepts JPEG or PNG screenshots without alpha or transparency; a Simulator PNG can contain an alpha channel, so do not assume the raw capture is ready for direct store submission. AppDrift’s JPEG campaign export has no alpha channel.

Capture commands were verified with a local sample SwiftUI app on iOS 26.1 Simulator on September 12, 2026. That check verifies capture and file dimensions; the save/export instructions follow the AppDrift editor. It does not establish that your app, account or store upload has been tested.

Download the capture and release checklist · Watch the screenshot editor lesson

Sources checked September 12, 2026: Apple’s Simulator capture reference, the installed xcrun simctl help io command, and Apple’s upload instructions. For an Android app, capture its Android interface and use the same file-editing steps; upload the reviewed export in Play Console under Google’s preview-asset requirements.

Choose a design

Open Screenshots. Your projects contains saved work; Start from a template opens the Choose a Template catalog. Use its categories, search and page controls to find a collection. Closing the catalog returns to your projects.

The current featured collections start with Halo Habitat, Orbit Flow, Solar Forecast, Vault Ledger and Voltage Studio. Preview the full campaign before choosing a design.

Public previews: browse collections and their five-screen previews without signing up. Sample apps and artwork are examples to replace with your own content.
Free templates: use the Free filter to find designs you can edit, save and export with a free account.
Pro collections: editing and export require Pro, Studio or another eligible entitlement. An eligible active Pro trial includes this access; a token pack alone does not.
Famous apps: these are attributed official screenshots for reference. The reference viewer is read-only.

Make it your own

Replace phone screenshots. Select a device, choose Change Screenshot and upload the corresponding capture from your app.
Edit the campaign text. Update headlines, captions and other text layers. Keep names, prices and feature claims accurate.
Adjust the composition. Move and resize layers, change backgrounds, and use the screen controls to rename, duplicate or reorder artboards.
Check detail images separately. Some collections include enlarged UI crops or decorative image layers. Replace those too: changing a phone screenshot does not automatically update an independent detail crop.

Campaign text, shapes and phones are editable layers. The interface inside a sample phone is an image; replace it with your own app capture to change that UI.

Adjust devices and canvas zoom

New supported iPhone devices start in 3D. Select a phone and use the 3D / 2D switch in its Edit panel. Turn, tilt, spin and reset controls sit beneath the selected device. Existing saved 2D choices are preserved.

The realistic model is an iPhone 16 Pro; choosing an export size changes the artboard size, not the physical model. Android and iPad devices use their own 2D frames.

Fit screen shows the whole active artboard. Selection fits the selected layer.
Use the percentage control or +/− for zoom levels from 5% to 200%. Pinch or Ctrl/⌘ + scroll zooms around the pointer; ordinary scrolling pans the canvas.
Use the Pan tool or hold Space and drag to move around. Selecting another screen fits that screen into view.
Undo uses Ctrl/⌘ + Z; redo uses Shift + Ctrl/⌘ + Z. Keyboard shortcuts leave focused text inputs available for typing.

The full editor is designed for a larger screen. On a phone, use previews or AI campaign review, then continue detailed canvas editing on desktop.

Create with AI

Choose Create with AI from Screenshots. Supply a factual app brief, your screenshots and the campaign options, then review the request before generation.

A successful 3–8-screen campaign costs 5 AI tokens. Free accounts can generate with enough tokens. Review every screen, edit the copy and save the result as an ordinary screenshot project to continue in the editor.

If a request's result is uncertain, use its recovery action before starting another generation. A recovered completed request does not charge again. Starting a different generation is a new request.

AI helps arrange your campaign and write copy. Review its claims and replace all sample content before using the exported artwork for your app.

Save, translate and refresh

Give the project a name and select Save. Saving and exporting require an account. After the first save, later edits can autosave; check the saved status before closing the editor. Reopen the project from Your projects.

Translation changes editable captions at 1 AI token per target language for the design set. Review the source language, target languages and displayed cost before confirming. Text already baked into a screenshot image is unchanged.

Review translated layouts for line breaks and clipping. If your app has localized captures, replace the relevant screenshots as well. Eligible paid plans also offer batch screenshot refresh for repeated updates; confirm the image-to-device mappings before applying a batch.

Export or upload to your store

Export creates a ZIP of JPEG images organized by platform, language and device. Choose the variants you need and inspect the downloaded images before uploading them to your store console. Free accounts can export Free designs; Pro artwork keeps its separate entitlement.

Upload to App Store sends selected screenshot sets to App Store Connect. It requires an eligible paid account, a saved project, a connected iOS app and an editable store version. Choose the app, supported device set and languages in the upload dialog.

App Store upload replaces the selected screenshot sets in the store draft. Review the selection before confirming. This does not publish the app. For Google Play, export the images and upload them manually in Play Console.

Get help with previews, saving and export