Google Play image specs fit on an index card: a 512 by 512 pixel PNG app icon, a 1024 by 500 pixel feature graphic, and between two and eight screenshots per device type, each with a long side no more than twice its short side. The icon, the feature graphic and two screenshots are what you must supply before a store listing can be published.
I have written this list down twice before, in two short posts that disagreed with each other about whether the icon may carry an alpha channel and about what the screenshot aspect ratio rule is. So this time I checked every number against the Play Console Help page Add preview assets to showcase your app and the Google Play icon design specifications. Where my older posts and the documentation disagree, the documentation wins, and I point out each correction below.
What image sizes does Google Play require?
Google Play requires an app icon of 512 by 512 pixels as a 32-bit PNG, a feature graphic of 1024 by 500 pixels as a JPEG or 24-bit PNG without alpha, and at least two screenshots as JPEG or 24-bit PNG, each side between 320 and 3,840 pixels. You can upload up to eight screenshots per device type.
Here is the full reference, as the help page stood in October 2026:
| Asset | Dimensions | Format | Count | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| App icon | 512 x 512 px | 32-bit PNG (with alpha), sRGB, 1024 KB maximum | 1 | Required. Full square, no rounded corners, no drop shadow. |
| Feature graphic | 1024 x 500 px | JPEG or 24-bit PNG (no alpha) | 1 | Required. Keep the focal point centered. |
| Phone screenshots | Each side 320 to 3,840 px. Long side at most 2x the short side. | JPEG or 24-bit PNG (no alpha) | Up to 8. At least 2 screenshots are needed to publish. | For recommendation formats: 4 or more at 1080 x 1920 (9:16) or 1920 x 1080 (16:9) or larger. |
| 7-inch and 10-inch tablet screenshots | 1,080 to 7,680 px, 16:9 or 9:16 | JPEG or 24-bit PNG (no alpha) | Up to 8 per size. Google asks for a minimum of 4. | Two separate upload slots. Leave out text that is not part of the app. |
| Chromebook screenshots | 1,080 to 7,680 px, 16:9 or 9:16 | JPEG or 24-bit PNG (no alpha) | Up to 8. Google asks for a minimum of 4. | Same large screen guidance as tablets. |
| Wear OS screenshots | 1:1, at least 384 x 384 px | JPEG or 24-bit PNG (no alpha) | At least 1 if you distribute to Wear OS | App interface only. No device frames, added text, or transparent backgrounds. |
| Android TV banner and screenshot | Banner 1280 x 720 px | JPEG or 24-bit PNG (no alpha) | 1 banner and at least 1 TV screenshot if you distribute to Android TV | Shown only on Android TV devices. |
All of these are uploaded on the Main store listing page in Play Console (Grow users, then Store presence), in the Graphics section. The help page sorts its rules into two tiers, and the difference matters. Requirements are mandatory, and failing them can lead to removal or suspension. Items under "Highly recommended" do not affect your listing page, but ignoring them can limit how and where Google Play promotes your app.
App icon and feature graphic: the two fixed-size assets
App icon: 512 by 512, and alpha is allowed
The icon requirement is a 32-bit PNG with alpha, 512 by 512 pixels, at most 1024 KB. The icon design specifications add that the color space should be sRGB. One of my older posts said "no alpha channel" for the icon. That was wrong: the no-alpha rule belongs to the feature graphic and to screenshots.
Allowed is not the same as advisable, though. Google's icon specifications suggest choosing a background color with no transparency, because transparent areas show the Google Play interface background behind your artwork. A logo floating on a transparent canvas will look different in light and dark themes.
Export the icon as a full square. Google Play applies the rounded mask itself, with a corner radius equal to 30% of the icon size, and adds the drop shadow dynamically. If you round the corners or bake in a shadow, you get a doubled effect. The requirements also ban badges or text that suggest ranking, price, or Play categories, which Google ties to its Metadata policy.
This store listing icon does not replace the launcher icon inside your app. They are separate files with separate rules, and the launcher side has its own trap, covered in my guide to the adaptive icon safe zone. For what the artwork itself should look like, see app icon design for ASO.
Feature graphic: 1024 by 500, no transparency
The feature graphic is required to publish, and it must be a JPEG or a 24-bit PNG with no alpha, at exactly 1024 by 500 pixels. Google uses it as the cover image for your preview video and in large format collections of apps.
The quiet failure here is the export setting. Most design tools write a PNG with an alpha channel whenever the canvas has any transparency, and that is a 32-bit file, not the 24-bit one the requirement names. Flatten the artwork onto a solid background, or export a JPEG and remove the question.
The rest is layout guidance from the recommended tier. Keep the focal point in the center, and keep your logo, app name and main slogan away from the edges, because Google crops the graphic differently depending on where it appears. Avoid fine detail that disappears on a phone screen, which is why I still say not to set your app name in small type. Avoid pure white, black or dark gray, which blend into the store background. Leave out words such as "Best", "#1" or "Free".
What aspect ratio do Google Play screenshots need?
Google Play requires that the longer side of a screenshot is no more than twice the shorter side, with each side between 320 and 3,840 pixels. A 16:9 or 9:16 ratio is not required for upload. It is what Google asks for if you want the app eligible for recommendation formats that use screenshots.
Both of my earlier posts gave the rule as "16:9 or 9:16", which mixes up the two tiers. The requirement is the 2:1 limit. That limit is also why raw captures from current phones do not fit, since most modern screens are taller than 2:1. Applying the rule to common capture sizes:
| Capture size | Long side divided by short side | Inside the 2:1 limit? |
|---|---|---|
| 1080 x 1920 | 1.78 (exactly 9:16) | Yes |
| 1080 x 2160 | 2.00 | Yes, exactly at the limit |
| 1080 x 2340 | 2.17 | No |
| 1080 x 2400 | 2.22 | No |
| 1440 x 3120 | 2.17 | No |
So my old warning about a 1080 by 2400 capture was right, but for a simpler reason than I gave: 2400 is more than twice 1080. The fix is to crop to 1080 by 1920, or to place the capture on a 1080 by 1920 canvas with a background, or to capture from an emulator profile with a 1080 by 1920 screen. Any of those also lands you on the recommended 9:16 ratio.
How many screenshots do you need on Google Play?
You need at least two screenshots to publish a store listing, and you can upload up to eight for each device type. To be eligible for recommendation formats that use screenshots, apps need at least four screenshots at 1080 pixels or more, and games need at least three.
The recommended tier is specific about size: 1920 by 1080 or larger for landscape at 16:9, and 1080 by 1920 or larger for portrait at 9:16. For games, Google wants those three screenshots to show actual gameplay.
In practice I treat four as the real minimum. Two will get the listing published, but a new app has no brand recognition to lean on, and the recommendation surfaces are where it gets found. Four screenshots at 1080 by 1920 costs nothing extra once the first two exist.
Do you need tablet and Chromebook screenshots?
The Play Console Help page does not list tablet or Chromebook screenshots among the requirements to publish. If you add them, Google asks for a minimum of four per large screen type, between 1,080 and 7,680 pixels, at 16:9 for landscape or 9:16 for portrait. Seven-inch and ten-inch tablets are separate upload slots.
Those two tablet sizes are buckets, not literal devices. You do not need a physical 7-inch tablet to fill the first one. Google also asks you to leave out added text that is not part of the app on large screen screenshots, because it can be cut off on Play homepages at some screen sizes.
One of my earlier posts said Play Console complains when your manifest supports tablets and you upload only phone screenshots. I could not find that in the documentation, so I am not repeating it as a rule. If your app does run on tablets, upload the four anyway.
Other form factors are stricter. If you distribute to Wear OS, the listing must contain at least one screenshot of the current version, square, at 384 by 384 pixels or more, showing only the app interface. If you distribute to Android TV, you need at least one TV screenshot and a 1280 by 720 banner before you can publish.
What Google says about status bars, device frames and text
I used to list "an emulator status bar" and "embedded ads" as reasons a screenshot gets rejected. I could not tie either to a written rule, so here is what the help page does say, all of it in the recommended tier:
- Clean up the notification bar. Remove carrier names and notifications, and show full battery, WiFi and signal icons.
- Keep taglines small. Added text should take up no more than 20% of the image.
- No ranking or promotional words. That covers "Best", "#1", "Top", "New", "Sale" and download counts, plus calls to action such as "Download now".
- Avoid device imagery. Google lists it among elements to avoid because it dates quickly. On Wear OS this is a requirement, not a suggestion.
- Show the real app. Use captured footage of the actual experience, not stretched, blurry or sideways images, and no fingers tapping the screen.
- Add alt text. Each screenshot can carry a description of 140 characters or less for screen reader users.
A messy status bar will not block your upload. It can cost you eligibility for promotion, which for a small app is the more expensive outcome. The page says nothing specific about ads appearing inside screenshots. The governing rules are that screenshots should show the actual in-app experience and that all listing content must comply with the Developer Program Policies. If you build your images yourself, my walkthrough on making Play Store screenshots without Figma covers the workflow.
Where IOn Emit fits
IOn Emit is the Windows desktop app I built for Google Play publishing. Its Screenshot Studio has device frame overlays, gradient templates and text overlays, with batch export for phone, tablet and Chromebook, and its listing editor handles visual assets with drag and drop. The free tier includes the publishing suite.
A checklist before you upload
- Icon: 512 by 512, 32-bit PNG, sRGB, under 1024 KB, square corners, no shadow, no transparent background.
- Feature graphic: 1024 by 500, JPEG or flattened 24-bit PNG, key elements centered.
- Screenshot limits: every side between 320 and 3,840 pixels, and the long side no more than twice the short side.
- Phone set: at least four screenshots at 1080 by 1920 or 1920 by 1080, eight at most.
- Large screens: if you add tablet or Chromebook screenshots, at least four each, 1,080 to 7,680 pixels, 16:9 or 9:16.
- Content pass: clean status bar, taglines under 20% of the image, no ranking words, no calls to action.
- File names: put the spec in the name, such as
icon_512.png,feature_1024x500.jpgandphone_1080x1920_01.png, so a wrong export is obvious before you upload it.
Images are one line on a longer list. The 30-day pre-launch checklist covers the rest of what a listing needs before you submit.
This post is part of our app publishing guides for indie Android developers.