App Store screenshots with a dark background
A dark picture overall. The App Store follows the device’s light or dark appearance, so a dark screenshot stands out in one and blends into the other.
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
44% 1002 of 2295
Screenshots that do it
28% 3556 of 12745
The top tens
101 of 230 against 901 of the other 2065
3556 of the 12745 screenshots read (28%) do this, across 1002 of the 2295 top apps in 23 App Store categories (44%). 101 of the 230 apps in a top ten do it (44%), against 901 of the other 2065 (44%): 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 (14%).
By category, most to least.
The share of each category’s top apps with App Store screenshots with a dark 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 | 69% 376 of 544 | 10 of 10 |
| Music | 71% 71 of 100 | 57% 311 of 550 | 10 of 10 |
| Weather | 70% 70 of 100 | 48% 266 of 555 | 7 of 10 |
| Sports | 67% 67 of 100 | 52% 288 of 558 | 10 of 10 |
| Developer Tools | 55% 55 of 100 | 41% 208 of 507 | 4 of 10 |
| Photo & Video | 55% 55 of 100 | 41% 232 of 566 | 5 of 10 |
| Graphics & Design | 54% 53 of 99 | 39% 220 of 564 | 6 of 10 |
| News | 50% 49 of 98 | 34% 177 of 517 | 5 of 10 |
| Navigation | 48% 48 of 99 | 26% 146 of 566 | 3 of 10 |
| Social Networking | 45% 45 of 100 | 28% 157 of 554 | 3 of 10 |
| Games | 44% 44 of 100 | 26% 147 of 567 | 5 of 10 |
| Utilities | 44% 44 of 100 | 29% 157 of 549 | 3 of 10 |
| Reference | 41% 41 of 100 | 24% 138 of 566 | 4 of 10 |
| Travel | 38% 38 of 100 | 16% 87 of 561 | 5 of 10 |
| Health & Fitness | 36% 36 of 100 | 23% 134 of 574 | 6 of 10 |
| Finance | 34% 34 of 100 | 15% 89 of 581 | 4 of 10 |
| Productivity | 33% 33 of 99 | 16% 87 of 551 | 2 of 10 |
| Lifestyle | 33% 33 of 100 | 18% 98 of 556 | 3 of 10 |
| Education | 29% 29 of 100 | 13% 73 of 555 | 0 of 10 |
| Shopping | 22% 22 of 100 | 9% 50 of 562 | 1 of 10 |
| Business | 21% 21 of 100 | 6% 32 of 554 | 2 of 10 |
| Medical | 21% 21 of 100 | 9% 48 of 548 | 2 of 10 |
| Food & Drink | 14% 14 of 100 | 6% 35 of 540 | 1 of 10 |
Examples from each category.
Up to 6 from each category, from the apps highest on its chart.
Entertainment 376 examples · 79% of apps
“Live Thursdays 7PM ET”
“TikTok Pro - Events”
“Your Next Favorite Show”
“DO WHAT YOU LOVE”
“Your Next Obsession”
“Sharing Moments Together”
Music 311 examples · 71% of apps
“FIND PODCASTS YOU LOVE”
“Adjust the genre, lyrics, and more”
“Create your own radio station”
“MUSIC YOU CAN'T FIND ELSEWHERE”
“Discover music around you”
“100 Million Songs,”
Weather 266 examples · 70% of apps
“Stay Ready”
“See it clearly with radar built for fast decisions”
“Fast and Accurate High Definition Radar”
“Real-time 3D Radar”
“Be better prepared for allergy season”
Sports 288 examples · 67% of apps
“#1 SPORTSBOOK FOR LIVE BETTING”
“Deposit $10 Get $50”
“Your Teams. Your Fights. One Home.”
“NOW AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE”
“PLAY $5 GET $150”
“GET UP TO $1,000 IN BONUS FUNDS”
Developer Tools 208 examples · 55% of apps
“Create Instantly”
“AI Widget”
“你的服务器 随时在手”
Photo & Video 232 examples · 55% of apps
“Discover entertaining videos with Reels”
“AI Video”
“Customize your captions”
“Turn imagination into characters”
“AI Dance Generator”
“HOME WHAT'S PICKED FOR YOU”
Graphics & Design 220 examples · 54% of apps
“AI BIRTHDAY PHOTO SHOOT”
“KlingAI 3.0”
“Smiley 4K Live Wallpapers”
“Cast Your AI Self”
“Custom App Icons”
News 177 examples · 50% of apps
“Be the first to know.”
“Stay Aware with Timely Alerts”
“Get lifesaving, real-time alerts”
“Listen in on breaking news”
“The app for every today.”
Navigation 146 examples · 48% of apps
“Park without worries”
“TURN YOUR MAPS INTO A GAME”
“KNOW WHEN TO HUNT”
“Earn points and save up to 50¢/gal off at participating Chevron stations”
“Easy on Eyes at Night”
“MapXplorer”
Social Networking 157 examples · 45% of apps
“Powerful”
“GROUP CHAT THAT'S FUN”
“group chats for people who touch grass”
“The phone service that won’t leave you hanging. No fixed contracts. No bills. Ever.”
“Letterboxd is the best social film tracking, discovery and watchlist tool for iOS”
“Add your best friends to your Home Screen”
Games 147 examples · 44% of apps
“CLEAR THE BOARD!”
“SORT WATER!”
“Designed For Seniors”
“Explore millions of experiences”
“MULTIPLE WAYS TO PLAY”
Utilities 157 examples · 44% of apps
“节目回看”
“Comfortable Touchpad”
“Explore TV and Streaming Services”
“Unlimited Online Protection”
“Set up and monitor Starlink”
Reference 138 examples · 41% of apps
“Start your day with God's Word”
“Voice Translator”
“Short Videos. Eternal Truths”
“Stay informed with Notifications”
“Stargazing made easy”
“Explore the Night Sky with AR”
Travel 87 examples · 38% of apps
“GO ANY- WHERE”
“Text and voice translation at your fingertips”
“Check in and get your boarding pass with ease.”
“Get going, on your terms”
Health & Fitness 134 examples · 36% of apps
“Apple Watch App of the Year”
“PROGRESS STARTS HERE”
“BONUSES & PROMO CODES”
“Just snap a picture of your food”
“Your Personal Health Companion”
“Discover 500,000+ trails”
Finance 89 examples · 34% of apps
“FOOTBALL IS BACK.”
“Shop with buyer protection.”
“Banking that skips the monthly fees”
“Earn 5% cash back¹ with Chime Card.™”
“Say hello to Erica®!”
“Trade all in one place”
Productivity 87 examples · 33% of apps
“Talk it through with voice mode”
“Create and edit any image”
“Signs in to your tools”
“Unlimited bandwidth. Fast & stable VPN server”
“One Tap”
“Rehearse with Presenter Coach”
Lifestyle 98 examples · 33% of apps
“Embrace spooky season”
“Keep the Party Going”
“You wanted a sign, here’s twelve”
“Connect with friends and family”
“All-in-one access + monitoring”
Education 73 examples · 29% of apps
“Learn 1000+ Phrases In 7 Days.”
“Play, create and host with Kahoot!”
“EXPAND YOUR VOCABULARY”
“Fun & Safe”
Shopping 50 examples · 22% of apps
“Sell with no fees”
“OPEN REAL CARD PACKS!”
“FALL SUPER SALE”
“Get Halloween ready”
“Buy it. Sell it. Love it.”
“Quince”
Business 32 examples · 21% of apps
“zoom Workplace”
“It's easy to get started in the app”
“Efficient.”
“Slack is where work happens”
“Convert to PDF, Word, JPG”
Medical 48 examples · 21% of apps
“Easily access your health information”
“Track your sleep therapy with your Resmed AirSense™ or AirCurve™ machine”
“Connect anytime, anywhere”
“Healthcare designed for you”
“Discover More About Your Dental Care.”
“The #1 pregnancy & baby app”
Food & Drink 35 examples · 14% of apps
“SAVING THE PLANET MADE tasty”
“Every meal is a decision.”
“MEET THE NEW My Panera”
“EARN REWARDS”
“Set a Notify.”
“Ordering is a Piece of Cake”
Related tactics.
Often on the same screenshot
- High contrast words35% of these screenshots, against 23% of every screenshot read
- Headline in capitals22% of these screenshots, against 16% of every screenshot read
- Gradient background51% of these screenshots, against 45% of every screenshot read
- Black, white or grey32% of these screenshots, against 27% of every screenshot read
- A photograph53% of these screenshots, against 48% of every screenshot read
- Headline in Title Case23% of these screenshots, against 19% of every screenshot read
More in look
- Light66%
- Gradient background62%
- Background is the icon’s colour59%
- Solid background48%
- Blue47%
- Black, white or grey46%
- A word in a different colour46%
- High contrast words45%
- 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 dark background?
1002 of the 2295 top apps read across 23 App Store categories (44%) have at least one, and 3556 of their 12745 screenshots (28%) 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 dark background?
Most common in Entertainment (79 of 100 apps, 79%), Music (71 of 100 apps, 71%) and Weather (70 of 100 apps, 70%). Least common in Food & Drink (14 of 100 apps, 14%).
Should my app have App Store screenshots with a dark background?
The charts show who does it, not whether it would work for your app. Across the categories read, 101 of the 230 apps in a top ten do it (44%), against 901 of the other 2065 (44%), 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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