App Store screenshots with a light background
A light picture overall. The App Store follows the device’s light or dark appearance, so a light 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
66% 1505 of 2295
Screenshots that do it
49% 6266 of 12745
The top tens
152 of 230 against 1353 of the other 2065
6266 of the 12745 screenshots read (49%) do this, across 1505 of the 2295 top apps in 23 App Store categories (66%). 152 of the 230 apps in a top ten do it (66%), against 1353 of the other 2065 (66%): the top ten do it about as often as the rest. It is most common in Shopping (90% of apps) and least common in Entertainment (25%).
By category, most to least.
The share of each category’s top apps with App Store screenshots with a light background. Each category opens its own page, with every example and headline.
| Category | Apps that do it | Screenshots | Top ten |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopping | 90% 90 of 100 | 67% 374 of 562 | 9 of 10 |
| Business | 86% 86 of 100 | 71% 396 of 554 | 9 of 10 |
| Education | 86% 86 of 100 | 66% 364 of 555 | 9 of 10 |
| Food & Drink | 86% 86 of 100 | 66% 354 of 540 | 8 of 10 |
| Medical | 85% 85 of 100 | 73% 398 of 548 | 9 of 10 |
| Productivity | 85% 84 of 99 | 67% 371 of 551 | 9 of 10 |
| Lifestyle | 81% 81 of 100 | 59% 328 of 556 | 9 of 10 |
| Finance | 78% 78 of 100 | 59% 343 of 581 | 8 of 10 |
| Health & Fitness | 78% 78 of 100 | 61% 352 of 574 | 7 of 10 |
| Travel | 73% 73 of 100 | 54% 301 of 561 | 6 of 10 |
| Reference | 71% 71 of 100 | 51% 290 of 566 | 8 of 10 |
| Utilities | 71% 71 of 100 | 55% 304 of 549 | 9 of 10 |
| Navigation | 65% 64 of 99 | 47% 265 of 566 | 7 of 10 |
| Social Networking | 61% 61 of 100 | 45% 252 of 554 | 7 of 10 |
| Developer Tools | 60% 60 of 100 | 48% 245 of 507 | 9 of 10 |
| News | 58% 57 of 98 | 41% 214 of 517 | 6 of 10 |
| Graphics & Design | 56% 55 of 99 | 48% 268 of 564 | 4 of 10 |
| Photo & Video | 50% 50 of 100 | 32% 179 of 566 | 5 of 10 |
| Games | 48% 48 of 100 | 31% 176 of 567 | 7 of 10 |
| Weather | 43% 43 of 100 | 25% 140 of 555 | 4 of 10 |
| Sports | 38% 38 of 100 | 25% 137 of 558 | 1 of 10 |
| Music | 35% 35 of 100 | 24% 133 of 550 | 1 of 10 |
| Entertainment | 25% 25 of 100 | 15% 82 of 544 | 1 of 10 |
Examples from each category.
Up to 6 from each category, from the apps highest on its chart.
Shopping 374 examples · 90% of apps
“List with ease”
“WOMEN'S FASHION”
“Discover your next favorite brand”
“Get notifications for drool-worthy deals”
“Shop over half a billion items in the app”
“Automatically apply coupons at 100,000 stores”
Business 396 examples · 86% of apps
“Meet, chat, collaborate, all in one app”
“Get hired 30% faster with the app*”
“Find the right opportunities for you.”
“MAKE MONEY ON YOUR SCHEDULE”
“Seamless authentication and device security”
Education 364 examples · 86% of apps
“learn 40+ languages for free”
“Find Your Path”
“All-In-One Study Buddy”
“Speak English like a native”
“Never miss an update”
Food & Drink 354 examples · 86% of apps
“Earn points for Free McDonald's”
“GET GROCERIES TO FLOWERS TO TAKEOUT”
“EXPLORE THE MENU”
“Order”
“Earn rewards with your App-etite”
“Place an order on the go and it’ll be ready when you are”
Medical 398 examples · 85% of apps
“All your health info in one place”
“Refill and manage prescriptions for yourself and others”
“Manage Your Personal Health Records & Easily Communicate With Your Doctor’s Office”
“SimplePractice Client Portal”
“Access to your lab results anytime”
“Data Tracking and Recording”
Productivity 371 examples · 85% of apps
“Your personal agent that takes things off your plate”
“Create new worlds”
“Talk, type, or share your camera to explore ideas”
“Get useful answers wherever you are”
“Get the best of Gmail on iPhone”
“Greater security across your accounts”
Lifestyle 328 examples · 81% of apps
“Get pictures described by Be My AI with a single tap”
“Skip the store. Shop the app.”
“Peace of mind while you are away.”
“Invite Guests on Any Platform”
“No.1 Wishlist app”
“Meet someone that also wants to get off dating apps”
Finance 343 examples · 78% of apps
“Welcome to Trump Accounts.”
“The easiest decision ever”
“Send money securely.”
“The app for every money move”
“Send and receive money easily”
“Unlimited commission-free trades with J.P. Morgan.”
Health & Fitness 352 examples · 78% of apps
“Log your activities . . .”
“Predict your next period”
“WALK TO EARN”
“ANALYZE products in a single scan”
“Walk against your friends”
“Know What You're Eating”
Travel 301 examples · 73% of apps
“Plan one-of-a-kind trips all in one app”
“Connect anytime, anywhere”
“Fly with Southwest ®”
“Book your whole trip in one app”
“Be Driven™”
Reference 290 examples · 71% of apps
“Voice Translator”
“Best Bible app I've ever used.” “I love this app but more importantly, I need this app.” “Because of this Bible App, I've replaced most of the apps on my phone with spending time in His Word!”
“Text Translator”
“Connect Daily With God's Word”
“Talk Freely with Voice Translate”
Utilities 304 examples · 71% of apps
“Find more of what you love with Discover”
“实时预览”
“Browse fast with Google Chrome”
“Stronger security with Google Authenticator”
“Clean Up”
“Govee”
Navigation 265 examples · 65% of apps
“Never miss a turn”
“Get there faster with live traffic updates & precise ETAs”
“Discover all of our offerings”
“See all nearby departures instantly”
“Use the Shell® Fuel Rewards® program in the Shell App & save more”
Social Networking 252 examples · 61% of apps
“Simple. Reliable. Private.”
“Fast”
“Join a group, trade tips, even get motivated”
“Know where they are in real time”
“Ask the real questions, get the real answers.”
“Useful. Social. Expressive.”
Developer Tools 245 examples · 60% of apps
“Access your beta apps and view updates”
“#1 Interactive Creation Platform”
“Build in voice ▂▂▂▂▂ mode.”
“Build from anywhere”
News 214 examples · 58% of apps
“The heart of the internet”
“Read, watch, chat”
“Join over 100 million neighbors”
“Find the cheapest gas near you”
“Follow your interests in the You tab.”
“Lift the veil on media bias”
Graphics & Design 268 examples · 56% of apps
“Use a camera”
“Anyone from Children to Adults Can Draw Freely !”
“Customize Lock & Home Screen”
“3000+ Aesthetic Themes”
“Dynamic Panel”
“OS 26 Control Center”
Photo & Video 179 examples · 50% of apps
“Amazing templates”
“Create”
“Chat”
“Thousands of templates for social media”
“Get up to 15 GB of storage* 3x more than many other cloud storage services”
Games 176 examples · 48% of apps
“Find the Cats”
“BLOCK OUT!”
“WIN EVENTS!”
“TWIST ALIGN UNLOCK”
“Remove Arrows!”
Weather 140 examples · 43% of apps
“14 - Day Hourly Forecast”
“Keep track of the weather”
“Flight Weather for Pilots”
“DYNAMIC MODEL VIEWING”
Sports 137 examples · 38% of apps
“TAP TO WATCH LIVE GAMES”
“there FOR EVERY MOMENT”
“WATCH NFL NETWORK WITH 7 EXCLUSIVE LIVE GAMES WITH NFL+”
“POSTS”
“Multiple Teams”
Music 133 examples · 35% of apps
“Play Music”
“JBL Headphones”
“LISTEN”
“No surprise fees at the end”
Entertainment 82 examples · 25% of apps
“Be the first to discover.”
“Choose how to get paid.”
“Discover events curated for you”
“Buy tickets to all kinds of events”
“OVER $200 MILLION PAID!”
“FIND IT”
Related tactics.
Often on the same screenshot
- Solid background38% of these screenshots, against 32% of every screenshot read
- Low contrast words18% of these screenshots, against 15% of every screenshot read
- Plain tone74% of these screenshots, against 71% of every screenshot read
- Black, white or grey30% of these screenshots, against 27% of every screenshot read
- Phone drawn84% of these screenshots, against 82% of every screenshot read
- Illustration or mascot38% of these screenshots, against 36% of every screenshot read
More in look
- Gradient background62%
- 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 light background?
1505 of the 2295 top apps read across 23 App Store categories (66%) have at least one, and 6266 of their 12745 screenshots (49%) 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 light background?
Most common in Shopping (90 of 100 apps, 90%), Business (86 of 100 apps, 86%) and Education (86 of 100 apps, 86%). Least common in Entertainment (25 of 100 apps, 25%).
Should my app have App Store screenshots with a light background?
The charts show who does it, not whether it would work for your app. Across the categories read, 152 of the 230 apps in a top ten do it (66%), against 1353 of the other 2065 (66%), 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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