App Store screenshots with a gradient background
A colour that shades into another. A gradient adds depth without adding anything to look at.
From the top free apps in 23 categories of the US App Store, last read on October 9, 2026. Screenshots are the developers’ own, shown from Apple’s servers with a link to each app.
The numbers
Apps that do it
62% 1426 of 2295
Screenshots that do it
45% 5758 of 12745
The top tens
128 of 230 against 1298 of the other 2065
5758 of the 12745 screenshots read (45%) do this, across 1426 of the 2295 top apps in 23 App Store categories (62%). 128 of the 230 apps in a top ten do it (56%), against 1298 of the other 2065 (63%): the top ten do it about as often as the rest. It is most common in Entertainment (79% of apps) and least common in Food & Drink (43%).
By category, most to least.
The share of each category’s top apps with App Store screenshots with a gradient background. Each category opens its own page, with every example and headline.
| Category | Apps that do it | Screenshots | Top ten |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entertainment | 79% 79 of 100 | 65% 352 of 544 | 9 of 10 |
| Utilities | 78% 78 of 100 | 64% 352 of 549 | 5 of 10 |
| Graphics & Design | 77% 76 of 99 | 60% 337 of 564 | 9 of 10 |
| Health & Fitness | 73% 73 of 100 | 57% 330 of 574 | 5 of 10 |
| Music | 73% 73 of 100 | 57% 315 of 550 | 6 of 10 |
| Sports | 71% 71 of 100 | 50% 279 of 558 | 7 of 10 |
| Social Networking | 68% 68 of 100 | 52% 290 of 554 | 6 of 10 |
| Games | 67% 67 of 100 | 41% 233 of 567 | 6 of 10 |
| Lifestyle | 66% 66 of 100 | 49% 275 of 556 | 5 of 10 |
| Reference | 65% 65 of 100 | 52% 294 of 566 | 8 of 10 |
| Productivity | 65% 64 of 99 | 49% 270 of 551 | 6 of 10 |
| Business | 63% 63 of 100 | 44% 243 of 554 | 6 of 10 |
| Education | 62% 62 of 100 | 37% 208 of 555 | 6 of 10 |
| Finance | 62% 62 of 100 | 46% 266 of 581 | 5 of 10 |
| Photo & Video | 60% 60 of 100 | 42% 236 of 566 | 4 of 10 |
| Developer Tools | 55% 55 of 100 | 46% 233 of 507 | 6 of 10 |
| Medical | 54% 54 of 100 | 33% 183 of 548 | 7 of 10 |
| News | 53% 52 of 98 | 38% 196 of 517 | 3 of 10 |
| Navigation | 52% 51 of 99 | 33% 189 of 566 | 5 of 10 |
| Travel | 50% 50 of 100 | 31% 173 of 561 | 5 of 10 |
| Shopping | 49% 49 of 100 | 32% 181 of 562 | 4 of 10 |
| Weather | 45% 45 of 100 | 35% 193 of 555 | 2 of 10 |
| Food & Drink | 43% 43 of 100 | 24% 130 of 540 | 3 of 10 |
Examples from each category.
Up to 6 from each category, from the apps highest on its chart.
Entertainment 352 examples · 79% of apps
“Live Thursdays 7PM ET”
“TikTok Pro - Events”
“Explore”
“DO WHAT YOU LOVE”
“Your Next Obsession”
“Events Picked For You, Wherever You Are”
Utilities 352 examples · 78% of apps
“Clean Up”
“Govee”
“What starts here, gets done here”
“Universal Remote For All TV Brands”
“Connecting changes everything”
“Find all your Xfinity services,”
Graphics & Design 337 examples · 77% of apps
“CREATE ACTION VIDEOS INSTANTLY”
“KlingAI 3.0”
“Smiley 4K Live Wallpapers”
“Cast Your AI Self”
“Use a camera”
“Anyone from Children to Adults Can Draw Freely !”
Health & Fitness 330 examples · 73% of apps
“Apple Watch App of the Year”
“Log your activities . . .”
“WALK TO EARN”
“ANALYZE products in a single scan”
“Walk against your friends”
“GET STRONGER, WITH A PLAN.”
Music 315 examples · 73% of apps
“EXPLORE THE WORLD OF AUDIOBOOKS”
“Make any song you can imagine”
“Create your own radio station”
“Name any song in seconds”
“Sound is power.”
“Save Data - 10 Million Offline Songs”
Sports 279 examples · 71% of apps
“EASILY SEARCH SPORTSBOOK FOR PLAYERS, GAMES, AND PROPS”
“America’s Sports Prediction Market”
“GET $250”
“STREAM ALL OF ESPN ALL IN ONE PLACE”
“THE OFFICIAL NBA APP”
“FOLLOW EVERY MATCHUP”
Social Networking 290 examples · 68% of apps
“Fast”
“Know where they are in real time”
“GROUP CHAT THAT'S FUN”
“organize the chaos”
“Hang out anytime, anywhere”
“Group Chats”
Games 233 examples · 67% of apps
“CLEAR THE BOARD!”
“SORT WATER!”
“Remove Arrows!”
“Designed For Seniors”
“Explore millions of experiences”
Lifestyle 275 examples · 66% of apps
“Skip the store. Shop the app.”
“Create Events in Seconds”
“No.1 Wishlist app”
“Build your smart home with SmartThings”
“CREATE AN ACCOUNT”
Reference 294 examples · 65% of apps
“Voice Translator”
“Voice Translator”
“Connect Daily With God's Word”
“Travel Without Language Barrier”
“Trusted Choice”
“Short Videos. Deep Truths.”
Productivity 270 examples · 65% of apps
“Your personal agent that takes things off your plate”
“Create new worlds”
“See mail that matters”
“Copilot, the AI built for work”
“Chat and learn something new”
“Store and access your content from anywhere”
Business 243 examples · 63% of apps
“Engage in discussions, share files or photos, and plan events”
“Get hired 30% faster with the app*”
“zoom Workplace”
“Seamless authentication and device security”
“Make work effortless”
“Earn for every delivery and keep all your tips”
Education 208 examples · 62% of apps
“Get Test Scores”
“All-In-One Study Buddy”
“Speak English like a native”
“Never miss an update”
“Master Essential Topics”
“Turn your notes into flashcards, practice tests, and study guides”
Finance 266 examples · 62% of apps
“Trade real-world events”
“Securely bank, save and invest with Chase Mobile.”
“Banking that skips the monthly fees”
“America's #1 Choice for Banking™”
“LIVETRADE SPORTS”
Photo & Video 236 examples · 60% of apps
“Professional cutout”
“Design anything”
“Turn imagination into characters”
“Explore”
“FOLLOW”
“Discover new streams, clips, and stories”
Developer Tools 233 examples · 55% of apps
“Manage the devices you use to test apps”
“#1 Interactive Creation Platform”
“Build from anywhere”
“Home Efficient Management”
“Track important status updates in one place”
Medical 183 examples · 54% of apps
“Refill and manage prescriptions for yourself and others”
“Manage Your Personal Health Records & Easily Communicate With Your Doctor’s Office”
“Access to your lab results anytime”
“Data Tracking and Recording”
“See your daily score”
News 196 examples · 53% of apps
“Track Locations You Care About”
“Listen to live police & fire radio”
“See the bias, factuality and ownership of any outlet”
“What's happening in your world?”
“Watch LIVE local news & top stores”
Navigation 189 examples · 52% of apps
“Real Places Live See Them Now”
“See all nearby departures instantly”
“Turn Your City Into Your Next Mission”
“Use the Shell® Fuel Rewards® program in the Shell App & save more”
“Pay for fuel from the comfort of your car!”
Travel 173 examples · 50% of apps
“Text and voice translation at your fingertips”
“Fly with Southwest ®”
“The NEW Frontier at your fingertips.”
“A premium shopping experience”
“Be Driven™”
“Stay flexible with free cancellations up to 24 hours before your trip”
Shopping 181 examples · 49% of apps
“Redeem toward future purchases”
“Free shopping rewards you can redeem for free gift cards”
“#1 Verified Savings App”
“#1 Deal Finding App”
“OPEN REAL CARD PACKS!”
“YOUR ONE-STOP-SHOP”
Weather 193 examples · 45% of apps
“See it clearly with radar built for fast decisions”
“Patent Pending Technology Delivering You the Most Hyper-Local Forecast on the Planet”
“LIVE RAIN MAP RADAR & FORECAST”
“RainScope”
“Hourly & 10-Day Forecasts”
Food & Drink 130 examples · 43% of apps
“Order your faves and start earning points for free food”
“CUSTOMIZE YOUR DRINK”
“Start earning free drinks with Starbucks Rewards”
“EASY DELIVERY”
“SCORE THE BEST DEALS”
Related tactics.
Often on the same screenshot
- Background is the icon’s colour50% of these screenshots, against 41% of every screenshot read
- Words at the top87% of these screenshots, against 80% of every screenshot read
- Blue35% of these screenshots, against 28% of every screenshot read
- Has a headline96% of these screenshots, against 89% of every screenshot read
- Headline under five words57% of these screenshots, against 50% of every screenshot read
- Phone drawn88% of these screenshots, against 82% of every screenshot read
More in look
- Light66%
- Background is the icon’s colour59%
- Solid background48%
- Blue47%
- Black, white or grey46%
- A word in a different colour46%
- High contrast words45%
- Dark44%
- Low contrast words34%
- Orange31%
- Photo background25%
- Rounded headline type20%
- Teal18%
- Red16%
- Green16%
- Pattern or texture15%
- The app itself is the background11%
- Purple9%
- Serif headline9%
- Pink8%
- Condensed or display type6%
- Yellow6%
Questions, answered from the chart.
How common are App Store screenshots with a gradient background?
1426 of the 2295 top apps read across 23 App Store categories (62%) have at least one, and 5758 of their 12745 screenshots (45%) do it. Counted from the US App Store’s top free charts, last read on October 9, 2026.
Which App Store categories have the most App Store screenshots with a gradient background?
Most common in Entertainment (79 of 100 apps, 79%), Utilities (78 of 100 apps, 78%) and Graphics & Design (76 of 99 apps, 77%). Least common in Food & Drink (43 of 100 apps, 43%).
Should my app have App Store screenshots with a gradient background?
The charts show who does it, not whether it would work for your app. Across the categories read, 128 of the 230 apps in a top ten do it (56%), against 1298 of the other 2065 (63%), so the top ten do it about as often as the rest. The numbers differ by category, so look at your own.
See your own app against this.
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