How to Make an App Preview Video on Your iPhone
A good demo video sells an app better than any screenshot — but the traditional way to make one involves a Mac, After Effects or Final Cut, a device-frame template, and an afternoon. Here’s the iPhone-only version.
Step 1: Record your screen
Add Screen Recording to Control Center (Settings → Control Center), start a recording, and walk through the flow you want to show. Keep it short — 15 to 30 seconds of one clear journey beats two minutes of wandering.
A few recording habits that pay off later:
- Slow your taps slightly — viewers need a beat to follow each action
- Prepare your app state first, so the recording starts on the good part
- Do a couple of takes; the second is almost always calmer
Step 2: Frame it
Import the recording into Screeny (Photos, Files, or share sheet). It gets the full mockup treatment: a real device bezel in the color of your choice, a clean 9:41 status bar on every frame, and a background — solid, gradient, your own photo, or an Unsplash search.
Step 3: Add keyframe zooms
This is what separates “screen recording” from “demo video”. On the keyframe timeline, add a zoom wherever something deserves attention:
- Pick the moment and duration by dragging the keyframe block
- Set the zoom level and the anchor — the point the camera pushes toward
- Choose easing (Smooth, Linear, Ease In, Ease Out)
The camera ramps in, holds, and ramps out — the push-in style you see in professional app launch videos.
Step 4: Export
Export as MP4 (30 or 60 fps) for social and the App Store — or, if you set a transparent background, as MOV with alpha, ready to composite over anything in a video editor. Rendering is GPU-accelerated, so it takes seconds.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a video from a still screenshot? Yes — add keyframe zooms to a static screenshot and export it as a short animated clip. Great for release announcements.
Does this replace App Store app previews made in Xcode? For most indie apps, yes — record on device, frame and animate in Screeny, export, upload. No simulator capture session required.
How much does exporting cost? A video export costs 3 credits; you start with 10 free ones. How credits work.