The Practical Guide to iOS App Icon Size Requirements

Designing an iOS app icon looks simple from the outside: draw a square, export some PNGs, and ship. The reality is more demanding. Each platform, device class, and context expects a specific iOS app icon size, and Apple applies rounded rectangle masks, corner radii, and safe areas that can easily distort a careless design.

This guide walks through the current iPhone app icon dimensions, iPad and App Store requirements, and explains how masks and safe areas affect your layout. It also includes two practical tables: one for the main specifications and one that you can turn into export presets in your design tools. For production work, always confirm against Apple’s latest iOS app icon guidelines in the Human Interface Guidelines (HIG), since Apple occasionally adjusts sizes or adds new contexts.

Core principles of iOS app icon size and format

Before looking at the full tables, it helps to anchor a few core rules. Apple expects:

• Square icons delivered as PNG.

• No transparency (alpha must be fully opaque).

• Artwork designed for a rounded rectangle mask, not a hard square.

• Vector source files (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Illustrator) that export to all required raster sizes.

A concrete example: a finance app targeting iPhone and iPad with an App Store presence needs, at minimum, a 1024×1024 App Store icon, an iPhone 180×180 icon, and an iPad 167×167 icon. Each of those sizes is derived from a base point size multiplied by a scale factor.

Points vs pixels and scale factors

iOS uses points as layout units and applies scale factors (1×, 2×, 3×) to get actual pixels. App icon specs are usually given directly in pixels, but understanding the relationship keeps the list from feeling arbitrary.

For example:

• A 60×60 pt home screen icon on a 2× device becomes 120×120 px.

• The same 60×60 pt icon on a 3× device becomes 180×180 px.

This is why the iPhone home screen icon appears as 120×120 on some devices and 180×180 on others, even though the logical size is the same. When you build export presets, you are essentially mapping those logical sizes to their pixel equivalents.

Main iOS app icon size table by device and context

The table below summarizes the most common iOS app icon size requirements across iPhone, iPad, App Store, and watchOS. Values are in pixels. Some legacy sizes are included because older devices and spotlight contexts still reference them in asset catalogs.

Important: Always cross-check these values with the latest Apple Human Interface Guidelines and Xcode asset catalog templates. Apple can add or deprecate sizes with new iOS releases.

Main specification table

Platform / ContextScalePixel size (W×H)Typical use case exampleApp Store (iOS / iPadOS)1×1024×1024App Store listing icon for all iOS and iPadOS appsiPhone Home Screen2×120×120iPhone SE (2nd gen) app on home screeniPhone Home Screen3×180×180iPhone 15 Pro app on home screeniPhone Spotlight2×80×80Search results icon on iPhone SE (2nd gen)iPhone Spotlight3×120×120Search results icon on iPhone 15 ProiPhone Settings2×58×58Settings list icon on iPhone SE (2nd gen)iPhone Settings3×87×87Settings list icon on iPhone 15 ProiPad Home Screen2×167×167iPad Pro 12.9″ home screen iconiPad Spotlight2×80×80Search results icon on iPad ProiPad Settings2×58×58Settings list icon on iPad ProwatchOS App Icon (Notification Center)2×58×58Notification icon on Apple Watch SEwatchOS App Icon (Notification Center)3×87×87Notification icon on Apple Watch Series 9watchOS Home Screen (App Grid / List)2×80×80App icon on Apple Watch SEwatchOS Home Screen (App Grid / List)3×120×120App icon on Apple Watch Series 9watchOS Companion (iPhone Watch app)2×58×58iPhone Watch app icon in Settings or home screenwatchOS Companion (iPhone Watch app)3×87×87iPhone Watch app icon on high‑density iPhonemacOS App Icon (for Catalyst / cross‑platform)1×512×512Base macOS icon for Catalyst appsmacOS App Icon (large)2×1024×1024Retina macOS icon in Finder and Launchpad

If you are shipping a pure iPhone app without watchOS or macOS companions, the critical sizes remain the App Store 1024×1024, the iPhone home screen icons (120×120 and 180×180), and the associated Spotlight and Settings icons. Xcode’s asset catalog typically lists these requirements explicitly when you create an iOS App Icon set.

Masks, corner radii, and safe areas

Apple no longer expects you to manually round the corners of your icons. The system applies a platform-specific mask, giving every app icon a consistent rounded rectangle shape. That mask, combined with a safe area for key content, should strongly influence your composition.

Rounded rectangle masks

Every iOS app icon size is delivered as a square PNG. On device, iOS applies a mask with a specific corner radius. The icon you design at 1024×1024, for example, is displayed with rounded corners in the App Store and on the home screen, but the underlying file remains a square.

A practical example: if you draw a circular logo that touches the corners of the 1024×1024 artboard, the rounded mask will clip the circle, making it look flattened or cut off. To avoid that, the circle should sit comfortably inside the rounded rectangle shape, leaving enough margin so the visual edge never collides with the mask.

Safe areas for key content

Apple’s iOS app icon guidelines recommend keeping essential shapes and text inside a safe area that sits well within the masked bounds. The exact percentage is not always spelled out, but a common and reliable practice is:

• Treat the full square as the bleed area.

• Use a live area inset of roughly 20–25% from each edge for logos, glyphs, and text.

When you design the 1024×1024 master icon, imagine a centered 768×768 or similar square where the main symbol lives. Background gradients or subtle textures can extend to the outer edges, but anything that must remain readable or recognizable should stay in that inner region.

A concrete scenario: a productivity app with a small calendar glyph and a two-letter abbreviation. If the letters sit too close to the edge of the 1024×1024 canvas, they may look fine at full size but appear cramped or partially lost at 60×60 pt on an iPhone home screen. Testing the icon at 120×120 and 180×180 in your design tool reveals this problem quickly.

Avoiding edge collisions and visual noise

Safe areas exist to prevent edge collisions and visual noise. Icons that ignore them often look crowded when placed next to cleaner, more disciplined designs.

Two quick checks help:

1. Small-size preview: Export the 120×120 and 180×180 icons, then view them on a device or scaled down to about 60–80 px on your monitor. If the logo feels crushed against the rounded corners, pull it inward.

2. System comparison: Place your icon next to official Apple icons (Mail, Calendar, Settings) in a mock home screen. If your icon’s shapes seem larger and more aggressive, scale them down within the safe area.

These checks keep the icon aligned with the rest of the system and reduce surprises when the mask is applied.

Building a master icon and export preset workflow

The most reliable way to meet every iPhone app icon dimensions requirement is to design one master icon and generate all other sizes from it. Most teams use a 1024×1024 master because it matches the App Store requirement and gives enough room for detailed vector work.

A typical workflow looks like this:

1. Create a 1024×1024 frame or artboard in Figma, Sketch, or Illustrator.

2. Draw the icon within a safe area grid that approximates Apple’s rounded rectangle mask.

3. Keep all shapes vector-based and group them into a single component or symbol.

4. Define export presets that match the table below.

5. Export, then drop the PNGs into the appropriate slots in the Xcode asset catalog.

An example: a weather app icon with a sun and cloud glyph is drawn once at 1024×1024. The designer then exports 1024×1024 for the App Store, 180×180 and 120×120 for the iPhone home screen, and 80×80 and 58×58 for Spotlight and Settings. All exports come from the same vector source, so curves and gradients remain consistent.

Export preset table for common tools

The next table reorganizes the main specs into a more practical view for export presets. The focus is on the most frequently used iOS and iPadOS sizes for app icons, grouped by context.

Export presets from a 1024×1024 master

ContextSuggested base (master)Export size (px)Notes and usage exampleApp Store1024×10241024×1024Required for App Store listing; no transparencyiPhone Home Screen1024×1024180×180Main icon on 3× devices (e.g., iPhone 15 Pro)iPhone Home Screen1024×1024120×120Main icon on 2× devices (e.g., iPhone SE 2nd gen)iPhone Spotlight1024×1024120×120Spotlight search on 3× devicesiPhone Spotlight1024×102480×80Spotlight search on 2× devicesiPhone Settings1024×102487×87Settings list icon on 3× devicesiPhone Settings1024×102458×58Settings list icon on 2× devicesiPad Home Screen1024×1024167×167Primary icon on iPad Pro and other Retina iPadsiPad Spotlight1024×102480×80Spotlight search on iPadiPad Settings1024×102458×58Settings list icon on iPadwatchOS App Icon1024×1024120×120App icon on 3× Apple Watch displayswatchOS App Icon1024×102480×80App icon on 2× Apple Watch displayswatchOS Notification1024×102487×87Notification icon on 3× Apple WatchwatchOS Notification1024×102458×58Notification icon on 2× Apple Watch

In tools like Figma, you can attach multiple export settings to the same component. For example, set the master frame to export PNG at 1024×1024, 180×180, 120×120, 80×80, and 58×58. Each time the icon changes, a single export regenerates all required sizes. This approach reduces manual work and lowers the risk of missing an icon in the asset catalog.

Applying iOS app icon guidelines to real projects

Understanding the iOS app icon guidelines is only useful if they shape actual design decisions. Several recurring patterns show up on production teams.

Balancing detail and legibility

High-resolution masters tempt designers to add fine details. At 1024×1024, tiny shadows, textures, and micro-gradients look appealing. At 120×120 or 58×58, they often collapse into noise.

Consider a task manager icon with multiple checklist rows and tiny checkmarks. At full size, each row looks crisp. On an iPhone home screen, those rows blur together into a gray block, and the checkmarks become indistinct. A better approach is to simplify the symbol to a single, bold checkmark and one or two clear shapes that read instantly at small sizes.

Color, contrast, and dark mode environments

Icons do not switch themes with dark mode, but they appear against different wallpapers and system tints. Strong contrast between the foreground glyph and the background color keeps the icon legible.

For example, a media app using a deep blue background and a slightly darker blue play symbol will look washed out on a dark wallpaper. Adjusting the symbol to a lighter or complementary color, then testing the icon on both light and dark mock home screens, reveals whether the balance works.

Testing across devices and densities

A single set of iPhone app icon dimensions must serve many devices. Testing on physical hardware, when possible, remains the most reliable method.

A pragmatic routine:

1. Build a small test app or use a sample Xcode project.

2. Drop the exported icons into the asset catalog.

3. Install on at least one 2× iPhone (e.g., iPhone SE) and one 3× iPhone (e.g., iPhone 15 or 15 Pro).

4. Compare the icon against Apple’s first‑party icons on the home screen and in Spotlight.

This kind of real-world check catches issues that static design mockups miss, such as muddy colors, overly thin lines, or shapes that feel off-center in the grid of icons.

Keeping up with Apple’s latest Human Interface Guidelines

Apple publishes the canonical iOS app icon guidelines in the Human Interface Guidelines on the Apple Developer site. While the core iOS app icon size values have been stable for several major releases, Apple occasionally tweaks details, adds new contexts, or adjusts recommendations for masks and radii.

Before finalizing an icon set for a production release, it is worth spending a few minutes to:

• Open the latest Human Interface Guidelines for iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and macOS.

• Confirm that your list of icon sizes matches the current tables.

• Check whether any new device classes or contexts (for example, new iPad screen densities) require additional assets.

Teams that maintain a shared design system can store these specs in a dedicated documentation page. When Apple updates the HIG, only that page and the export presets need to change, and every app built on the system inherits the update automatically.

FAQ: iOS app icon size and guidelines

What is the required iOS app icon size for the App Store?

The App Store requires a 1024×1024 pixel PNG icon with no transparency. This master icon is also the usual starting point for generating all other iOS app icon size variants.

Which iPhone app icon dimensions are mandatory for home screen icons?

For the home screen, the key iPhone app icon dimensions are 180×180 pixels for 3× devices and 120×120 pixels for 2× devices. Xcode’s asset catalog includes both slots in the iOS App Icon set.

Should app icons include rounded corners in the source file?

No. Provide a square PNG, and let the system apply its own rounded rectangle mask. Design the icon with the mask and safe areas in mind, but do not bake the rounded corners into the exported file.

Can text be used in iOS app icons?

Text is allowed but should be used sparingly. Because icons are displayed at small sizes, long words or thin typefaces often become unreadable. Short abbreviations or single letters can work when they sit comfortably within the safe area and have strong contrast against the background.

How many different icon sizes should be exported for a typical iOS app?

For a standard iOS-only app, expect to export at least the App Store 1024×1024 icon, two home screen sizes (180×180 and 120×120), two Spotlight sizes (120×120 and 80×80), and two Settings sizes (87×87 and 58×58). Xcode will show the full list of required slots when you create or inspect the app icon asset.

Where can the latest iOS app icon guidelines be found?

The most up-to-date iOS app icon guidelines are available in Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines on the Apple Developer website. Always consult that source before shipping, as it reflects the current expectations for icon sizes, masks, and design practices.