Technical Q&A QA1686

App Icons on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch

Q: What icons need to be included in an iOS Application, Apple Watch Application, iMessage Application, or Sticker Pack Application?

A: Below are guidelines for handling icon files for iPhone-only apps, iPad-only apps, universal apps, Apple Watch apps, and iMessage extensions. If you are building an iMessage Application or Sticker Pack Application, you must include icons for both the containing application and the iMessage extension.

If you don't provide artwork for one of the listed optional icons, the system will automatically scale one of your existing icon images to an appropriate size. It is strongly recommended that your application include artwork for all the icons listed, at the specific sizes needed.

Prior to iOS 3.2, icon images for iPhone applications were required to follow a strict naming convention. These legacy names are still listed in the tables below along with example names for the more recent icons. Except for iTunesArtwork , icon images included in your app can have arbitrary names.

Note: All icon images must be in PNG format. Icon images may include an alpha channel but should not include any transparent regions.

iOS ignores the PPI (Pixels Per Inch) of icon images. You may author your icon images at any PPI but their width and height, as measured in pixels, must match the values in the tables below.

Important: iTunesArtwork icon images should be in png format, but name them without the .png extension.

Note: Application icons are not localizable.

Icons for iPhone-only Applications iPhone-only applications use the following icons. Items marked with "Required" must be included. Note: You should include images for the iPad-specific icons even if the application is not a universal app. If available, they will be used when the application is installed on an iPad. Table 1 iPhone-only application icon requirements. Image Size (px) File Name Used For App Store Ad Hoc 512x512 iTunesArtwork App list in iTunes Do not include Optional but recommended 1024x1024 iTunesArtwork@2x App list in iTunes on devices with retina display Do not include Optional but recommended 120x120 Icon-60@2x.png Home screen on iPhone/iPod Touch with retina display Required Required 180x180 Icon-60@3x.png Home screen on iPhone with retina HD display Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 76x76 Icon-76.png Home screen on iPad Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 152x152 Icon-76@2x.png Home screen on iPad with retina display Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 167x167 Icon-83.5@2x.png Home screen on iPad Pro Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 40x40 Icon-Small-40.png Spotlight Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 80x80 Icon-Small-40@2x.png Spotlight on devices with retina display Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 120x120 Icon-Small-40@3x.png Spotlight on devices with retina HD display Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 29x29 Icon-Small.png Settings Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, optional otherwise Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, optional otherwise 58x58 Icon-Small@2x.png Settings on devices with retina display Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, optional otherwise Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, optional otherwise 87x87 Icon-Small@3x.png Settings on devices with retina HD display Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, optional otherwise Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, optional otherwise In addition to the above icons, iPhone-only applications with a deployment target of iOS 6.1 or earlier use the following icons. Items marked with "Required" must be included if the application's deployment target is iOS 6.1 or earlier. Table 2 iPhone-only application icon requirements (iOS 6.1 and earlier). Image Size (px) File Name Used For App Store Ad Hoc 57x57 Icon.png Home screen on iPhone/iPod touch (iOS 6.1 and earlier) Required Required 114x114 Icon@2x.png Home screen on iPhone/iPod Touch with retina display (iOS 6.1 and earlier) Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 72x72 Icon-72.png Home screen on iPad (iOS 6.1 and earlier) Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 144x144 Icon-72@2x.png Home screen on iPad with retina display (iOS 6.1 and earlier) Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 29x29 Icon-Small.png Spotlight on iPhone/iPod Touch (iOS 6.1 and earlier), and Settings on all devices Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, otherwise optional but recommended Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, otherwise optional but recommended 58x58 Icon-Small@2x.png Spotlight on iPhone/iPod Touch with retina display (iOS 6.1 and earlier), and Settings on all devices with retina display Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, otherwise optional but recommended Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, otherwise optional but recommended 50x50 Icon-Small-50.png Spotlight on iPad (iOS 6.1 and earlier) Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 100x100 Icon-Small-50@2x.png Spotlight on iPad with retina display (iOS 6.1 and earlier) Optional but recommended Optional but recommended You can include distinct images for the iPhone and iPad icons in categories where the required sizes are equivalent, for example, Settings. Back to Top

Icons for iPad-only Applications iPad-only applications use the following icons. Items marked with "Required" must be included. Table 3 iPad-only application icon requirements. Image Size (px) File Name Used For App Store Ad Hoc 512x512 iTunesArtwork Ad Hoc iTunes Do not include Optional but recommended 1024x1024 iTunesArtwork@2x Ad Hoc iTunes on devices with retina display Do not include Optional but recommended 76x76 Icon-76.png Home screen on iPad Required Required 152x152 Icon-76@2x.png Home screen on iPad with retina display Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 167x167 Icon-83.5@2x.png Home screen on iPad Pro Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 40x40 Icon-Small-40.png Spotlight Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 80x80 Icon-Small-40@2x.png Spotlight on devices with retina display Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 29x29 Icon-Small.png Settings Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, otherwise optional but recommended Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, otherwise optional but recommended 58x58 Icon-Small@2x.png Settings on devices with retina display Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, otherwise optional but recommended Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, otherwise optional but recommended In addition to the above icons, iPad-only applications with a deployment target of iOS 6.1 or earlier use the following icons. Items marked with "Required" must be included if the application's deployment target is iOS 6.1 or earlier. Table 4 iPad-only application icon requirements (iOS 6.1 and earlier). Image Size (px) File Name Used For App Store Ad Hoc 72x72 Icon-72.png Home screen on iPad (iOS 6.1 and earlier) Required Required 144x144 Icon-72@2x.png Home screen on iPad with retina display (iOS 6.1 and earlier) Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 50x50 Icon-Small-50.png Spotlight on iPad (iOS 6.1 and earlier) Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 100x100 Icon-Small-50@2x.png Spotlight on iPad with retina display (iOS 6.1 and earlier) Optional but recommended Optional but recommended Back to Top

Icons for Universal Applications Universal applications use the following icons. Items marked with "Required" must be included. Table 5 Universal application icon requirements. Image Size (px) File Name Used For App Store Ad Hoc 512x512 iTunesArtwork App list in iTunes Do not include Optional but recommended 1024x1024 iTunesArtwork@2x App list in iTunes for devices with retina display Do not include Optional but recommended 120x120 Icon-60@2x.png Home screen on iPhone/iPod Touch with retina display Required Required 180x180 Icon-60@3x.png Home screen on iPhone with retina HD display Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 76x76 Icon-76.png Home screen on iPad Required Required 152x152 Icon-76@2x.png Home screen on iPad with retina display Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 167x167 Icon-83.5@2x.png Home screen on iPad Pro Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 40x40 Icon-Small-40.png Spotlight Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 80x80 Icon-Small-40@2x.png Spotlight on devices with retina display Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 120x120 Icon-Small-40@3x.png Spotlight on devices with retina HD display Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 29x29 Icon-Small.png Settings Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, optional otherwise Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, optional otherwise 58x58 Icon-Small@2x.png Settings on devices with retina display Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, optional otherwise Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, optional otherwise 87x87 Icon-Small@3x.png Settings on devices with retina HD display Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, optional otherwise Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, optional otherwise In addition to the above icons, universal applications with a deployment target of iOS 6.1 or earlier use the following icons. Items marked with "Required" must be included if the application's deployment target is iOS 6.1 or earlier. Table 6 Universal application icon requirements (iOS 6.1 and earlier). Image Size (px) File Name Used For App Store Ad Hoc 57x57 Icon.png Home screen on iPhone/iPod touch (iOS 6.1 and earlier) Required Required 114x114 Icon@2x.png Home screen on iPhone/iPod Touch with retina display (iOS 6.1 and earlier) Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 72x72 Icon-72.png Home screen on iPad (iOS 6.1 and earlier) Required Required 144x144 Icon-72@2x.png Home screen on iPad with retina display (iOS 6.1 and earlier) Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 29x29 Icon-Small.png Spotlight on iPhone/iPod Touch (iOS 6.1 and earlier), and Settings on all devices Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, otherwise optional but recommended Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, otherwise optional but recommended 58x58 Icon-Small@2x.png Spotlight on iPhone/iPod Touch with retina display (iOS 6.1 and earlier), and Settings on all devices with retina display Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, otherwise optional but recommended Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, otherwise optional but recommended 50x50 Icon-Small-50.png Spotlight on iPad (iOS 6.1 and earlier) Optional but recommended Optional but recommended 100x100 Icon-Small-50@2x.png Spotlight on iPad with retina display (iOS 6.1 and earlier) Optional but recommended Optional but recommended You can include distinct images for the iPhone and iPad icons in categories where the required sizes are equivalent, for example, Settings. Back to Top

Icons for Watch Applications Watch applications use the following icons. Items marked with "Required" must be included. Important: Icons for Watch applications must be added to the Watch App target. Do not add Watch icons to the iOS app target or the Watch Extension target. Table 7 Watch application icon requirements. Image Size (px) File Name Used For App Store Ad Hoc 80x80 AppIcon40x40@2x.png Home screen on Apple Watch (38mm/42mm), Long-Look notification on Apple Watch (38mm) Required Required 88x88 AppIcon44x44@2x.png Long-Look notification on Apple Watch (42mm) Required Required 172x172 AppIcon86x86@2x.png Short-Look notification on Apple Watch (38mm) Required Required 196x196 AppIcon98x98@2x.png Short-Look notification on Apple Watch (42mm) Required Required 48x48 AppIcon24x24@2x.png Notification center on Apple Watch (38mm) Required Required 55x55 AppIcon27.5x27.5@2x.png Notification center on Apple Watch (42mm) Required Required 58x58 AppIcon29x29@2x.png Settings in the Apple Watch companion app on iPhone Required Required 87x87 AppIcon29x29@3x.png Settings in the Apple Watch companion app on iPhone 6 Plus Required Required Back to Top

Icons for iMessage Extensions iMessage extensions and Sticker Pack extensions use the following icons. Items marked with "Required" must be included. Important: These icons must be added to the iMessages extension or Sticker Pack extension target. Table 8 iMessage extension and Sticker Pack extension icon requirements. Image Size (px) File Name Used For App Store Ad Hoc 1024x768 Messages1024x768.png Messages App Store Required Required 120x90 Messages60x45@2x.png Messages app drawer on iPhone/iPod Touch with retina display Required Required 180x135 Messages60x45@3x.png Messages app drawer on iPhone with retina HD display Required Required 134x100 Messages67x50@2x.png Messages app drawer on iPad with retina display Required Required 148x110 Messages74x55@2x.png Messages app drawer on iPad Pro Required Required 54x40 Messages27x20@2x.png Breadcrumb icons in the chat transcript on devices with retina display. Required Required 81x60 Messages27x20@3x.png Breadcrumb icons in the chat transcript on iPhone with retina HD display Required Required 64x48 Messages32x24@2x.png Messages app management screen, message bubble branding on devices with retina display Required Required 96x72 Messages32x24@3x.png Messages app management screen, message bubble branding on iPhone with retina HD display Required Required Back to Top

Adding Icons to an iOS Application Asset catalogs are the preferred way to manage your application's icons. New projects are configured to use asset catalogs by default. If you have an older project, see Migrating an iOS App Icon Set to learn how to move existing app icons and launch images into an asset catalog. If you prefer not to use asset catalogs, or if you must support iOS 4.3, you can manually configure your application's icons by editing the information property list for your application. See Configuring Icons Without an Asset Catalog. Adding Icon Images to an Asset Catalog Select the asset catalog in the project navigator. It is named Assets.xcassets for new projects, or Images.xcassets for migrated projects, by default. From the set outline view (left column), select the app icon set. For new or migrated projects it will be named 'AppIcon'. You may need to create an icon set by clicking the (+) button in the bottom left corner of the editor and choosing App Icons and Launch Images > New iOS App Icon from the context menu. Figure 1 The AppIcon set selected in the asset catalog. The set will only contain image wells for icons that are relevant depending upon the project's configuration at the time the asset catalog was created. If an image well is missing, expand the attributes inspector and select the appropriate options from the pull-down menus under the App Icon section, depending upon the project's deployment target and supported devices. Figure 2 Enable the necessary image wells under the App Icon section of the attributes inspector. Drag images from the Finder onto each image well to configure the associated icon. Figure 3 Complete icon set for a universal application with a deployment target less than iOS 7.0 Asset catalogs create a copy of images added to them. If you had previously added the images as resources to your project you can safely remove them. Configure your application to use the new icon set. Select the project in the project navigator. Select the application target from the list in the left column of the project editor. Switch to the General pane at the top of the project editor. Select the app icon set from the App Icons Source popup menu under the App Icons And Launch Images section. Figure 4 Selecting the icon set for the application's target. Migrating an iOS App Icon Set Simplify image management by moving existing app icons into an asset catalog. In the project navigator, select your target. Open the General pane, and scroll to the App Icons and Launch Images section. Click the Use Asset Catalog button next to the App Icons Source label. Configure any options in the dialog. To choose a different asset catalog or to create a new one, click on the pop-up menu. Choose an existing asset catalog or choose New Asset Catalog to create a new one. The menu is shown when there is at least one asset catalog in the project. Click the Migrate button. If there is no asset catalog or if you selected New Asset Catalog from the pop-up menu, you will be prompted to create one. Canceling creation of the new asset catalog will cancel the migration. The icons are migrated to the new or existing asset catalog. Configuring Icons Without an Asset Catalog Follow the steps in the Xcode Help to add each icon image to your project as a resource. Locate the target's information property list in the project navigator. By default it will be named Info.plist . Command click on it and choose Open As > Source Code from the context menu. As of iOS 5.0, icons are specified by including the CFBundleIcons key. Older applications may have previously specified their icons by including the CFBundleIconFiles key. This key should be removed if it is still present (don't forget to remove any device specific variants too). All applications should migrate to the CFBundleIcons key to specify their icons. The value for the CFBundleIcons key is a dictionary with two child keys: CFBundlePrimaryIcon and UINewsstandIcon . The UINewsstandIcon key is for newsstand apps and can otherwise be omitted. The value for the CFBundlePrimaryIcon key is a dictionary that identifies the icon images associated with the bundle. It may contain two child keys: CFBundleIconFiles and UIPrerenderedIcon . The value for the UIPrerenderedIcon key is a boolean that specifies whether the images already incorporate a shine effect. The value for CFBundleIconFiles key is an array of strings, each identifying an image in the bundle. Important: When specifying the name of each image, it is best to omit any extensions. Omitting the extension lets the system automatically detect high-resolution ( @2x or @3x ) variants of the image using the standard-resolution image filename. If you include extensions, you must specify all image files (including the high-resolution variants) explicitly. Listing 1 Example configuration for a universal app. <key>CFBundleIcons</key> <dict> <key>CFBundlePrimaryIcon</key> <dict> <key>CFBundleIconFiles</key> <array> <string>Icon-Small</string> <string>Icon-Small-40</string> <string>Icon-Small-50</string> <string>Icon</string> <string>Icon-60</string> <string>Icon-72</string> </array> </dict> </dict> <key>CFBundleIcons~ipad</key> <dict> <key>CFBundlePrimaryIcon</key> <dict> <key>CFBundleIconFiles</key> <array> <string>Icon-Small</string> <string>Icon-Small-40</string> <string>Icon-Small-50</string> <string>Icon-72</string> <string>Icon-76</string> <string>Icon-83.5</string> </array> </dict> </dict> If your application supports iOS 4.3 you must also include the CFBundleIconFiles key to specify the application's icon images. The value for this key is an array of strings, each identifying an image in the bundle. If you have included images for the iPad-specific icons, you may either list them under the CFBundleIconFiles key, or you may list them under the device specific CFBundleIconFiles~ipad key. iPad-only applications should list their icon images under the CFBundleIconFiles key. Listing 2 Example configuration for a universal app with deployment target of iOS 4.3. <key>CFBundleIconFiles</key> <array> <string>Icon-Small</string> <string>Icon-Small-40</string> <string>Icon-Small-50</string> <string>Icon</string> <string>Icon-60</string> <string>Icon-72</string> </array> <key>CFBundleIconFiles~ipad</key> <array> <string>Icon-Small</string> <string>Icon-Small-40</string> <string>Icon-Small-50</string> <string>Icon-72</string> <string>Icon-76</string> <string>Icon-167</string> </array> Back to Top

Adding Icons to a Watch Application Asset catalogs are the preferred way to manage your Watch application's icons. New projects are configured to use asset catalogs by default. Adding Icon Images to an Asset Catalog Select the asset catalog in the project navigator. It is named Images.xcassets by default. From the left column of the editor, select the icon set. For new it will be named 'AppIcon'. You may need to create an icon set by clicking the (+) button in the bottom left corner of the editor and choosing 'New App Icon' from the context menu. Figure 5 The AppIcon set selected in the asset catalog. By default, the set will only contain image wells for watch icons. If image wells for iOS app icons are present, expand the attributes inspector and select the appropriate options from the pull-down menus under the App Icon section. Figure 6 Enable only the Apple Watch image wells under the App Icon pane of the settings inspector. Drag images from the Finder onto each image well to configure the associated icon. Figure 7 Complete icon set for a Watch application. Asset catalogs create a copy of images added to them. If you had previously added the images as resources to your project you can safely remove them. Configure the Watch application to use the new icon set. Select the project in the project navigator. Select the Watch App target from the list in the left column of the project editor. Switch to the General pane at the top of the project editor. Select the icon set from the App Icons Source popup menu under the App Icons section. Figure 8 Selecting the icon set for the Watch application's target. Back to Top

Adding Icons to an iMessage Extension Asset catalogs are the preferred way to manage iMessage extension and Sticker Pack extension icons. New projects are configured to use asset catalogs by default. Adding Icon Images to an Asset Catalog Select the asset catalog in the project navigator. It is named Assets.xcassets by default. From the set outline view (left column), select the app icon set. It is named 'iMessage App Icon' by default. You may need to create an icon set by clicking the (+) button in the bottom left corner of the editor and choosing App Icons and Launch Images > New Messages Extension Icon from the context menu. Figure 9 The iMessage extension Icon set selected in the asset catalog. Drag images from the Finder onto each image well to configure the associated icon. Figure 10 Complete icon set for an iMessage extension. Sizes shown in each image are the height in pixels. Configure the extension to use the new icon set. Select the project in the project navigator. Select the iMessage extension or Sticker Pack extension target from the list in the left column of the project editor. Switch to the General pane at the top of the project editor. Select the icon set from the Sticker Icons Source popup menu under the App Icons section. Figure 11 Selecting the icon set for an iMessage extension's target. Back to Top

Document Revision History

Date Notes 2016-12-20 Updated for Xcode 8, Apple Watch and Messages extensions. 2014-12-01 Added iPhone 6 Plus icons. Further expanded the troubleshooting section. Added iPhone 6 Plus icons. Further expanded the troubleshooting section. Added iPhone 6 Plus icons. Further expanded the troubleshooting section. 2014-05-19 Added troubleshooting steps for incorrect icons appearing in the App Store search results. 2014-02-03 Updated for Xcode 5 and iOS 7. 2013-07-18 Added icon information for iPad with retina display. 2011-07-14 After iOS 4.3, order doesn't matter in the icon arrangement. Added links to related references. 2010-07-14 Fixed outdated "Add Icon files in Info.plist" section. 2010-07-12 Updated for iOS 4 requirements. 2010-04-09 New document that explains how the icon files in an application bundle are used on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.