Playful App Store screenshots
A joke, a wink, a pun. A joke or a pun gives the app a voice, and says something about what using it feels like.
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
20% 465 of 2295
Screenshots that do it
6% 742 of 12745
The top tens
51 of 230 against 414 of the other 2065
742 of the 12745 screenshots read (6%) do this, across 465 of the 2295 top apps in 23 App Store categories (20%). 51 of the 230 apps in a top ten do it (22%), against 414 of the other 2065 (20%): the top ten do it about as often as the rest. It is most common in Games (48% of apps) and least common in Utilities (7%).
By category, most to least.
The share of each category’s top apps with playful App Store screenshots. Each category opens its own page, with every example and headline.
| Category | Apps that do it | Screenshots | Top ten |
|---|---|---|---|
| Games | 48% 48 of 100 | 20% 112 of 567 | 6 of 10 |
| Social Networking | 44% 44 of 100 | 14% 75 of 554 | 3 of 10 |
| Food & Drink | 43% 43 of 100 | 13% 68 of 540 | 5 of 10 |
| Graphics & Design | 32% 32 of 99 | 11% 61 of 564 | 4 of 10 |
| Entertainment | 32% 32 of 100 | 10% 55 of 544 | 3 of 10 |
| Shopping | 30% 30 of 100 | 7% 39 of 562 | 6 of 10 |
| Lifestyle | 28% 28 of 100 | 8% 43 of 556 | 3 of 10 |
| Education | 22% 22 of 100 | 6% 35 of 555 | 3 of 10 |
| Health & Fitness | 20% 20 of 100 | 5% 27 of 574 | 2 of 10 |
| Music | 20% 20 of 100 | 5% 27 of 550 | 1 of 10 |
| Photo & Video | 20% 20 of 100 | 5% 30 of 566 | 1 of 10 |
| Sports | 16% 16 of 100 | 4% 24 of 558 | 3 of 10 |
| Travel | 16% 16 of 100 | 4% 24 of 561 | 2 of 10 |
| Finance | 14% 14 of 100 | 3% 15 of 581 | 3 of 10 |
| Productivity | 11% 11 of 99 | 3% 14 of 551 | 1 of 10 |
| Navigation | 10% 10 of 99 | 3% 17 of 566 | 2 of 10 |
| Developer Tools | 10% 10 of 100 | 3% 13 of 507 | 0 of 10 |
| Reference | 10% 10 of 100 | 2% 11 of 566 | 1 of 10 |
| Business | 9% 9 of 100 | 2% 11 of 554 | 1 of 10 |
| News | 8% 8 of 98 | 3% 13 of 517 | 0 of 10 |
| Weather | 8% 8 of 100 | 3% 14 of 555 | 1 of 10 |
| Medical | 7% 7 of 100 | 1% 7 of 548 | 0 of 10 |
| Utilities | 7% 7 of 100 | 1% 7 of 549 | 0 of 10 |
Examples from each category.
Up to 6 from each category, from the apps highest on its chart.
Games 112 examples · 48% of apps
“Cute and Fun”
“CHALLENGE YOURSELF!”
“SORT WATER!”
“ASMR with Satisfaction!”
“KNOCK EM' ALL!”
“SPIN FOR YOUR SQUAD”
Social Networking 75 examples · 44% of apps
“GROUP CHAT THAT'S FUN”
“group chats for people who touch grass”
“Bring your vibe to your chats”
“Fun with backgrounds and effects”
“The phone service that won’t leave you hanging. No fixed contracts. No bills. Ever.”
“Share Moments and Have Fun”
Food & Drink 68 examples · 43% of apps
“OR WHATEVER THE DAY CALLS FOR.”
“Mid-week grocery run. Without the run.”
“Earn rewards with your App-etite”
“SAVING THE PLANET MADE tasty”
“TURN UP THE HEAT”
“DELIVERY DELIGHTS”
Graphics & Design 61 examples · 32% of apps
“Customize Your Silly Wallpaper”
“Cast Your AI Self”
“Anyone from Children to Adults Can Draw Freely !”
“Cute Cartoon Themes”
“Make Your Pet Sing”
“Amazing Charging Animations”
Entertainment 55 examples · 32% of apps
“TikTok Pro - Events”
“SO WHAT'S THE CATCH?”
“One controller. Different games. Endless fun.”
“Earn real money playing games!”
“Short Dramas, Made for Your Feels”
“High-quality characters under 1 minute”
Shopping 39 examples · 30% of apps
“Help old favorites”
“Get notifications for drool-worthy deals”
“Sparky has dinner covered”
“Join our 10 million users, saving over $2 billion!”
“Great finds, sweet deals, and more.”
“Weekly Giveaways. Real Winners.”
Lifestyle 43 examples · 28% of apps
“Embrace spooky season”
“Designed to be deleted”
“Attract people who actually get you”
“CELEBRATE EVERY MILESTONE IN ONE PLACE”
“Book some you time”
“Start your engine from wherever you are”
Education 35 examples · 22% of apps
“fun, bite-sized lessons”
“Bite-Sized Lessons That Come to Life”
“We9re every teacher9s sidekick.”
“TikTok for smart people”
“Learning”
“Choose Your Own Personalized Scenario 🤯”
Health & Fitness 27 examples · 20% of apps
“POWER UP WITH PERKS”
“Smash their step count”
“Consistency looks good on you.”
“Send each other support and silliness”
“Earn points as you get younger”
“Walk more with friends!”
Music 27 examples · 20% of apps
“Build on your wildest ideas with AI”
“Incredible live shows. Upfront pricing. Relevant recommendations.”
“UNFILTERED TALK & NONSTOP COMEDY”
“PERSONALIZE YOUR SCHEDULE”
“Level up!”
“Set charging animation for your vibe”
Photo & Video 30 examples · 20% of apps
“Chat”
“FOLLOW”
“Become The Star Of Any Scene”
“bedazzle your selfie”
“DIGI CAM IT!”
“A LITTLE DANCE A LOT OF JOY”
Sports 24 examples · 16% of apps
“Game On for Soccer Fans”
“UNDERDOG RIPS”
“MAKE THAT WINNING PICKUP”
“PRE-BUILT LINEUPS”
“RIP CARDS PACKS”
“YOU MAKE THE CALL. WILL IT PAY OFF?”
Travel 24 examples · 16% of apps
“Stays that'll set tails wagging”
“Hail the future”
“Dream, plan, fly, repeat.”
“Experience the Magic”
“Experience the Magic”
“Win Free Gas!”
Finance 15 examples · 14% of apps
“Keep an eye on your credit with a flick of your thumb.”
“Hard launch your teen’s money era”
“Get up to $500 of your pay when you say4”
“Say hello to Erica®!”
“Say hello to your new BFF 6 your Big Financial Friend.”
“Fee-free Overdraft⁵”
Productivity 14 examples · 11% of apps
“Create new worlds”
“Doomscroll Again”
“Create & join audio discussions to learn on the go 🚆”
"The most awesome snack we've ever tried."
“A dictionary that learns your lingo”
“Multiple signers? Tag it.”
Navigation 17 examples · 10% of apps
“Get directions from the voice you love”
“TURN YOUR MAPS INTO A GAME”
“MapQuest is back”
“Say Bonjour to the city”
“Fuel Your Journey, Go the ExtraMile™”
“If Your Journey Is Truly Random Where Will You Go?”
Developer Tools 13 examples · 10% of apps
“Meet your bots”
“Vercel Anywhere!”
“A WORLD”
“Take Netlify With You!”
“ulw! ulw! ulw! Sisyphus”
“Take N8N With You!”
Reference 11 examples · 10% of apps
“Translate Anything”
“Meet Aura, Your Personal AI Super Astronomer!”
“Introduce New Game!”
“Read the Bible, before you scroll”
“#1 Modern Bible App”
“Connect with Creators and Friends”
Business 11 examples · 9% of apps
“DELIVER WITH DOORDASH”
“DELIVER SMILES”
“All that paper? Gone.”
“Explore workplace reviews”
“PROTECT YOUR TIME & MONEY.”
“Make payday a breeze”
News 13 examples · 8% of apps
“Same headlines, different headspace”
“Tease your brain with puzzles and games.”
“Play your way to the next level of word games.”
“BUILD YOUR STICKERBOOK.”
“The podcast app for podcast people”
“Deeply invested in sports? So are we.”
Weather 14 examples · 8% of apps
“Stay Ready”
“Make the most of this nice weather that I generated for you. Or else.”
“CLEAR SKY”
“Smile every time you check the weather!”
“Their rain gauges agree.”
“Every shower, all year”
Medical 7 examples · 7% of apps
“Virtual Care”
“You Put Them to Sleep, but We’ll Tell You When”
“Pain relief for every body”
“Tap into the power of your plasma donation!”
“Publix Pharmacy’s app is just what the doctor ordered”
“Scan for surprise offers at your Allē provider’s office”
Utilities 7 examples · 7% of apps
“Just Blink and Youre Home”
“...even on videos!”
“Goodbye Spam Auto-Block On”
“Rizz Keyboard”
“Swipe Right to Keep”
“BUY YOUR MINT PLAN, RIGHT IN THE APP”
Related tactics.
Often on the same screenshot
- Exclaims22% of these screenshots, against 2% of every screenshot read
- Illustration or mascot54% of these screenshots, against 36% of every screenshot read
- Headline in capitals34% of these screenshots, against 16% of every screenshot read
- Headline readable at thumbnail size45% of these screenshots, against 31% of every screenshot read
- Rounded headline type22% of these screenshots, against 9% of every screenshot read
- States a benefit54% of these screenshots, against 42% of every screenshot read
More in meaning
- Plain tone90%
- Leads with a feature87%
- States a benefit79%
- Subline explains the headline36%
- Leads with an outcome19%
- Names its audience17%
- Subline adds a second benefit17%
- Asks for an action16%
- Premium tone10%
- Urgent tone9%
- Leads with trust9%
- Compares with something8%
- Leads with price6%
- Technical tone5%
- Leads with what is new4%
- Leads with who it is for4%
- Leads with a problem2%
Questions, answered from the chart.
How common are playful App Store screenshots?
465 of the 2295 top apps read across 23 App Store categories (20%) have at least one, and 742 of their 12745 screenshots (6%) 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 playful App Store screenshots?
Most common in Games (48 of 100 apps, 48%), Social Networking (44 of 100 apps, 44%) and Food & Drink (43 of 100 apps, 43%). Least common in Utilities (7 of 100 apps, 7%).
Should my app have playful App Store screenshots?
The charts show who does it, not whether it would work for your app. Across the categories read, 51 of the 230 apps in a top ten do it (22%), against 414 of the other 2065 (20%), 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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