App icon requirements and sizes (2026)
The master icon and its rules
Everything starts from one image at 1024 by 1024 pixels. Apple is strict about its format, and getting any of these wrong is a common reason an upload or review fails:
- PNG format. JPEG, SVG, and WebP are not accepted for the app icon.
- No transparency. The image must be fully opaque with no alpha channel. Every pixel needs a color value.
- Flattened, with no layers.
- sRGB or Display P3 color space.
- Square corners. Do not draw rounded corners, drop shadows, or a glossy highlight into the art. iOS applies the rounded mask, and adding your own makes it look doubled up.
Design the art to fill the whole square, since the system mask trims the corners. A small centered logo on a large empty field tends to look lost once the rounding is applied.
How the sizes are generated
You used to supply a dozen separate icon files. With modern Xcode you supply only the single 1024 master in the app's asset catalog, and the toolchain generates the smaller sizes that iOS uses at runtime, such as 180 by 180 for the iPhone home screen, 167 and 152 for iPad, and the smaller sizes for Spotlight, settings, and notifications.
That single-size approach means you maintain one file instead of many, and the runtime sizes always stay in sync with the master. If you target several platforms, such as iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, the asset catalog still works from the same master where supported.
iOS 26 and the Liquid Glass treatment
Starting with iOS 26, the system renders icons with a Liquid Glass appearance, which adds depth and subtle reflection on top of your art. Apple provides Icon Composer for producing layered icons that respond well to that treatment, including light, dark, and tinted variants. You do not have to hand-author every appearance, but knowing the system will add its own glass and rounding is the reason to keep your source art clean, flat, and free of baked-in effects. Let the platform do the styling rather than fighting it.
Where AppFlight fits
AppFlight includes a marketing autopilot that designs your app icon alongside screenshots, mockups, and the App Store listing. It produces the icon as a flattened 1024 master in the right format, with square corners and no transparency, so it satisfies the requirements without manual exporting. You can refine the direction, and the icon stays consistent with the rest of the marketing assets AppFlight generates for the same app.
FAQ
What size does an App Store icon need to be?
The master icon is 1024 by 1024 pixels. With modern Xcode you supply only that single size in the asset catalog, and the system generates the smaller runtime sizes like 180, 167, 152, and 120 pixels automatically.
Can my app icon have transparency or rounded corners?
No. The 1024 master must be a flattened PNG with no transparency or alpha channel, and you should keep the corners square. iOS applies the rounded mask itself, and on iOS 26 it also applies the Liquid Glass appearance, so baked-in rounding or shadows will look wrong.
Does AppFlight make my app icon?
Yes. AppFlight includes a marketing autopilot that designs the app icon along with screenshots and mockups. You can refine the result, and AppFlight exports it at the right format and size so it passes the icon requirements.