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 between 15 and 30 seconds. That isn’t a style preference: it’s Apple’s hard minimum and maximum for App Previews, so a 12-second cut and a 45-second one are both rejected.
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 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.
Pick your frame rate with the destination in mind. App Store Connect caps app previews at 30 fps, so export 30 for anything you’re uploading there. Keep 60 for social, where nothing is checking.
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.