iOS App Icon Sizes: Export Every Required Size

iOS app icon sizes can be produced from one 1024 × 1024 px square master: export the seven unique iPhone PNG sizes—180, 120, 87, 80, 60, 58, and 40 px—and keep a separate 1024 × 1024 px RGB PNG for App Store Connect. Export PNG-24 with transparency disabled, do not pre-round the artwork, and place the files in an Xcode AppIcon asset catalog by point size and scale. Recent Xcode versions can also derive icon renditions from one 1024 px AppIcon source, but checking the generated slots remains the safer release workflow.

Key takeaways

• •The unique iPhone icon exports are 180, 120, 87, 80, 60, 58, and 40 px.
• •App Store Connect requires a 1024 × 1024 px App Store icon without an alpha channel.
• •A 60 pt iPhone app icon exports at 180 px for @3x and 120 px for @2x.
• •A 29 pt Settings icon exports at 87 px for @3x and 58 px for @2x.
• •Export 8-bit RGB PNG-24 with transparency disabled for the 1024 px marketing icon.

This guide is for mobile UI/UX designers, iOS engineers, and founders who can export image assets and build an iOS app in Xcode.

Time: 20 minutes · You'll need: A 1024 × 1024 px icon master in Figma, Sketch, Photoshop, or Illustrator, An image exporter that can create RGB PNG files without alpha, Xcode with the app’s Assets.xcassets catalog, A physical iPhone or iOS Simulator for the final icon check

What's on this page

1. •Build one square 1024 px master
2. •Export the complete iPhone icon sizes
3. •Export the App Store icon without alpha
4. •Place files in the Xcode AppIcon catalog
5. •Validate app store icon sizes before upload
6. •Reference table

• •Common mistakes
• •FAQs

Exporting iOS app icon sizes step by step

1. Build one square 1024 px master

Create the source artwork on a 1024 × 1024 px square canvas. Keep the artwork square and opaque from edge to edge. Do not draw the iOS rounded-rectangle mask into the file: iOS applies its own icon treatment when it renders the icon on the Home Screen, in Settings, and in Spotlight.

Use a solid background behind artwork that would otherwise need transparency. For example, a white glyph should sit on an opaque brand-colour field, not on transparent pixels. Keep small symbols away from the outer edge; the system mask, visual effects, and icon grid make edge-hugging details look clipped.

This master is both the source for manual exports and the 1024 × 1024 px App Store Connect marketing icon. Keep an editable version, such as a Figma frame or vector source, separate from the final PNG. A flattened PNG cannot safely replace the editable master when the brand colour or mark changes.

Tip: Test the master at 60 × 60 px before export; a detail that only works at 1024 px will fail on the iPhone Home Screen.

2. Export the complete iPhone icon sizes

Export the master as these seven unique iPhone PNG dimensions: 180 × 180, 120 × 120, 87 × 87, 80 × 80, 60 × 60, 58 × 58, and 40 × 40 px. They come from the iPhone point-size slots and their display scales, not from seven separate visual designs.

Name files by their destination so handoff is unambiguous: AppIcon-60pt@3x.png for 180 px, AppIcon-60pt@2x.png for 120 px, AppIcon-40pt@3x.png for 120 px, AppIcon-40pt@2x.png for 80 px, AppIcon-29pt@3x.png for 87 px, AppIcon-29pt@2x.png for 58 px, AppIcon-20pt@3x.png for 60 px, and AppIcon-20pt@2x.png for 40 px.

The repeated 120 px and 60 px dimensions serve different asset slots. Export them once only if the pixels are identical, then place copies into each required Xcode slot.

Tip: Use the manual point-size formula—points × 2 for @2x and points × 3 for @3x—when an older target or additional asset slot appears.

3. Export the App Store icon without alpha

Export a separate 1024 × 1024 px App Store icon as an 8-bit RGB PNG-24 with transparency disabled. PNG-24 describes 24-bit RGB colour data; ensure the exporter does not add an alpha channel. In Figma, turn off transparency by placing an opaque background in the export frame. In Photoshop, use an RGB document and export a PNG with transparency disabled.

App Store Connect requires this marketing icon and does not accept an icon with an alpha channel. It must be a full square image, even if the visible artwork is a circular or glyph-based brand mark. Do not add rounded corners to the artwork. Apple applies the appropriate mask in system contexts, and a rounded icon often creates transparent corner pixels when exported.

Keep this 1024 px file alongside the Xcode assets rather than resizing an already exported 180 px icon upward. Upscaling cannot recover the source detail required for store presentation.

Tip: Inspect the exported PNG’s channel information before upload; an opaque-looking file can still contain an unused alpha channel.

4. Place files in the Xcode AppIcon catalog

Open Assets.xcassets in Xcode and select the AppIcon asset. If the catalog exposes individual slots, drag each PNG into the slot matching its point size and scale. Put 180 px in 60 pt @3x, 120 px in 60 pt @2x, 87 px in 29 pt @3x, 58 px in 29 pt @2x, 80 px in 40 pt @2x, 120 px in 40 pt @3x, 40 px in 20 pt @2x, and 60 px in 20 pt @3x.

Recent Xcode releases support a single-size app icon workflow: add one 1024 × 1024 px source to the AppIcon asset and Xcode can generate the required icon renditions at build time. Use that workflow only after confirming the project’s deployment targets and generated asset catalog behavior. Teams supporting legacy configurations or reviewing files outside Xcode should retain the manually exported files.

Set the target’s App Icons Source build setting to the AppIcon asset name, normally AppIcon, then build the app. Xcode should report no missing required icon warnings.

Tip: Do not drag a 1024 px marketing PNG into every visible slot; Xcode expects each slot’s declared pixel dimensions unless using the single-size icon workflow.

5. Validate app store icon sizes before upload

Archive the app in Xcode and validate the archive before submitting it through App Store Connect. In the archive, confirm the AppIcon asset has no empty required iPhone slots if you used the manual workflow. Then inspect the 1024 × 1024 px marketing icon at actual pixel size and verify that it is square, opaque, and has no baked-in corner radius.

A transparent 1024 px icon can trigger App Store Connect validation feedback stating that the App Store icon cannot be transparent or contain an alpha channel. A rounded export commonly causes the same failure because its four corners are transparent. An opaque square file with artwork already clipped to rounded corners may pass technical validation, but it still conflicts with Apple’s icon guidance because iOS adds the system shape itself.

Install the archive on at least one iPhone or Simulator and check the icon on the Home Screen, in Settings, and in Spotlight. These contexts reveal thin strokes and low-contrast marks that looked acceptable in the 1024 px master.

Tip: Use floow.design’s free iOS App Icon Sizes reference at /free-tools/ios-app-icon-sizes to cross-check slot purpose and scale factors, not as a substitute for archive validation.

Reference table

iPhone AppIcon export dimensions

Do it with the free iOS App Icon Sizes

Every iOS icon dimension, what it is used for, and the scale factor behind it.

Open the iOS App Icon Sizes → — free, no sign-up.

Common mistakes

Exporting only a 180 px Home Screen icon.

A 180 px file covers 60 pt @3x only. Add the 120, 87, 80, 60, 58, and 40 px exports for Spotlight, Settings, notifications, and @2x iPhones.

Using a transparent PNG because the visible artwork has a transparent background.

Put the mark on an opaque square background and export RGB PNG-24 without alpha. App Store Connect rejects a 1024 px App Store icon with transparency or an alpha channel.

Adding rounded corners to match the iPhone Home Screen.

Export a square icon with square pixels at all four corners. iOS applies the system icon mask; pre-rounded files can show an unintended double-radius effect or transparent corners.

Treating two 120 px files as interchangeable without checking their slots.

The 120 px file is used for both 60 pt @2x and 40 pt @3x slots. The pixels can match, but each Xcode slot has a distinct named purpose and must be populated.

Frequently asked questions

What are all the iPhone icon sizes I need to export?

The complete unique iPhone export set is 180, 120, 87, 80, 60, 58, and 40 px, plus a 1024 × 1024 px App Store icon. The sizes map to 60 pt, 40 pt, 29 pt, and 20 pt icon slots at @2x or @3x. Two slots share 120 px, and two slots share 60 px, so one file can be copied when the artwork is identical.

Do I still need every iOS app icon size in recent Xcode?

Recent Xcode versions can create required icon renditions from one 1024 × 1024 px AppIcon source, but manual slot exports remain useful for verification and legacy project configurations. Add the source to the AppIcon asset catalog and inspect the build result. If your catalog displays individual slots, fill each required point-size and scale slot or use Xcode’s supported single-size workflow consistently.

What size is the App Store icon?

The App Store Connect marketing icon must be 1024 × 1024 px and must not contain an alpha channel. Export it as an opaque RGB PNG, not a transparent image with a visible mark in the center. This file is separate from the smaller iPhone Home Screen and Settings icon renditions inside the app bundle.

Can an iOS app icon have transparent corners?

No, the 1024 × 1024 px App Store icon cannot be transparent or contain an alpha channel. Transparent corners often result from pre-rounding the icon in the design file. Export a fully opaque square image and let iOS apply its own rounded icon mask in system surfaces.

Why does my iPhone app icon look rounded before I upload it?

Your source file likely has a baked-in corner radius or transparent pixels outside a rounded shape. Remove the baked-in mask and export an opaque square canvas, because iOS supplies the final icon shape. A pre-rounded asset can produce transparent-corner validation errors or visually incorrect system masking.

Is PNG-24 the right format for an app icon export?

Yes, an 8-bit RGB PNG-24 without transparency is the correct export format for the 1024 × 1024 px App Store icon. PNG preserves crisp raster edges and supports the RGB colour data required for an opaque icon. Check that the export tool has not included an alpha channel, even when every pixel appears visibly filled.

Where this leaves you

A complete iOS icon handoff starts with one editable 1024 × 1024 px master, not a collection of separately redrawn icons. Export the seven unique iPhone pixel sizes from that master, preserve the 1024 px opaque RGB PNG for App Store Connect, and map each file to its point-size and scale slot in Xcode. The practical failure point is rarely the 180 px Home Screen asset; it is the missing 29 pt or 20 pt slot, or an invisible alpha channel in the marketing icon. Your next action is to open the AppIcon catalog and compare every populated slot against the table before creating an archive.

---

Design the screens first

Describe the screen you need in plain English and floow.design generates production-ready iOS and Android layouts you can iterate on by chat, then export to Figma or code. Design your mobile app screens in floow.design first, then build.

Start designing free →

---

Related

• •Aspect Ratio Calculator — Work out the missing width or height for any ratio, with the common phone and store ratios one click away.
• •Device Size Reference — Screen dimensions, density and safe areas for current handsets — searchable, and exportable as code.
• •SVG to PNG Converter: Export Icons for iOS and Android — Use an SVG to PNG converter and manual export workflow to deliver SF Symbols, PDF vectors,
• •Phone Mockup: Put App Screens in Device Frames — Build a credible phone mockup by matching screenshot apertures, choosing flat or angled fr
• •Gemini 3.1 for Mobile App UI Design: 4 Real Prompts Tested Hands-On (2026) — I tested Gemini 3.1 Pro with 4 real mobile app UI prompts — fitness tracker, food delivery

Sources

• •Apple Developer Documentation — App icons
• •Apple Developer Documentation — Configuring your app’s icon
• •Apple Developer Documentation — Asset catalogs
• •App Store Connect Help — App information