The complete guide to iPhone screen resolutions and sizes (Updated 2024)

Apple as a company has always wowed the world. It manufactures a lot of things like personal computers, smartphones, wearables, accessories, etc. However, it relies heavily on its iPhones when it comes to their roaring financial success.

Unlike Android, the iOS ecosystem appears a bit enclosed and esoteric to developers and consumers alike. Despite that, iPhones have a huge mass appeal and are quite popular across the globe.

When it comes to mobile app designing, development, and marketing for iPhones, one must adhere to the specifications and guidelines that are unique to Apple and its products. Today, we are here to help you cover one aspect of it.

We have compiled a screen size and resolution guide for iPhones of various generations. Having this information will help you make better design, development, and marketing decisions. So, let’s begin!

In this blog

1. iPhone screen resolutions and sizes: An easy guide
2. Some related terms that you should be aware of
3. Why is understanding phone screen size & resolution so important?
4. How to make your app look good on all iPhone screens?
5. How to create an iOS app on a budget?
6. App Store Screenshot requirements for iOS submission
7. Frequently asked questions

iPhone screen resolutions and sizes: An easy guide

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The evolution of iPhone screen sizes is not a mystery. Just like Android smartphones, iPhones come in various screen sizes and the size of display screens has grown bigger over the years.

As evident, mobile phone users have the “large screen, small device” paradox. We want elaborate displays on compact and portable devices and this choice has affected the screen design trends.

iPhone’s evolution seems to be adhering to a similar tendency. Let us go through an iPhone screen size comparison and understand better.

Evolution of screen sizes in iPhones

Based on screen size, iPhones can be grouped into the segments listed in the table below. We have also mentioned the year of release of the devices to help you get a grasp of the timeline. Here it goes:

Just by going through the list above, you can determine the screen size of your target audience. If you are going for users with the latest iPhone models, you must design for bigger screens and higher resolutions (discussed below).

You can also go through the table on Apple Wiki and get the specifics for iPads if your audience includes people with tablets.

Classification of iPhones based on resolution

Apart from screen size, iPhones can also be classified based on their physical resolution. This includes the group of prevalent devices listed in the table below. We have added the resolution in pixels and in points. Additionally, we have also included the PPI (Pixels Per Inch) specification for the devices.

Here are the display specifications of different iPhone models:

(The above details are represented in portrait mode. For landscape, you can just reverse the two numbers. Example: 1290 x 2796 becomes 2796 x 1290.)

As evident, the iPhone has also had devices with screen resolutions as low as 320 x 480 pixels, which was standard at one point in time. However, devices corresponding to such specifications are now no longer prevalent or in use.

Image Source: iPhone Development 101

Some related terms that you should be aware of

To learn about iPhone screen sizes, resolutions, etc., it is also important to know about the terms that determine these specifications. Knowing about the terms related to iPhone screen size and design can help you understand this guide better.

Some important iPhone design terms that you should be aware of are as follows:

Screen Size

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Screen size or display size is the physical measurement of the screen usually denoted in inches. Screen size measurements for smartphones are taken by measuring diagonally from the upper left-hand corner of the screen to the lower right-hand corner. However, the size of a screen can also be expressed in terms of the length and width of the screen.

Pixel (px)

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Pixel is a portmanteau of the two words “picture” and “element”. It is the smallest visible color unit on a display screen or the smallest unit of a digital image or graphic that can be represented on a device. These colored pixels are composed of associated red, green, and blue subpixels.

In fact, all digital images are actually made up of a large number of individual pixels. When we say that an element (Example: Font) is 12 px or 12 pixels in height, it means that the element takes up 12 pixels on the screen from top to bottom. The same goes for width.

Therefore, the next time you spot a specification that reads AxB pixels (where A and B are numerical values), remember that it signifies the height and width of the pixels. Note that pixels are combined to form a complete image, video, text, or any visible element on a device’s display.

Point (pt)

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Units like millimeters and inches are suitable for measuring physical items but not in the digital space. Thus, we use points as a size measurement unit. In fact, point was created as a unit of size/distance that enables graphics to be scaled independently of the resolutions of the device they are running on.

In simple terms, one point (pt) is equal to 0.352778 millimeters, 0.0138889 inches, or 1.333 pixels. On the other hand, one pixel is equal to 0.75 points. However, you must note that one point is almost equivalent to one pixel on a standard-resolution screen, while one point is equal to two or more pixels on high-resolution screens.

Pixels Per Inch (PPI)

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PPI is the number of pixels (or dots in the case of DPI which is used in print) that can be placed in a line across one linear inch. In simpler terms, it refers to the number of pixels contained within each inch of a digital image. It can also be defined as the number of pixels a screen can display.

A screen with a high number of PPI will show more detailed visuals and the image will be less pixelated or distorted. This means that lower resolution images will contain larger sized pixels in fewer numbers. This will create the granular effect which we commonly call as ‘pixelated’.

On the other hand, high resolution images will contain smaller sized pixels in greater numbers. Thus, the quality of the images gets enhanced, ensuring more depth and clarity.

Resolution

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The display resolution is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed on the screen. In simple terms, it is a measure that describes the sharpness and clarity of an image. The better the resolution, the more detailed the image will be.

 The standard display resolution sizes include:

(Note: The physical size of the screen has nothing to do with its resolution. Phones with smaller screens can also have a sharp picture quality and i.e., a high resolution.)

Why is understanding phone screen size & resolution so important?

Ever uploaded an image on social media that looked fine on Facebook but got partly hidden on the Twitter feed and cropped on Instagram? Have you ever landed on a blog or video that had truncated text or image?

If you have answered either of the questions with a “Yes”, then you must already know about the importance of perfectly sized and customized media, text, screen designs, etc.

When developing mobile apps or content for smartphones, understanding phone screen sizes and resolution becomes even more important. Let us understand the reason behind it and learn where this knowledge can come in handy.

Importance in app design and development

Understanding screen sizes, resolution, etc., is absolutely important for app design and development.

It can help you in the design and development process in the following ways:

• Stay aligned with design and development specifications.
• Remain in adherence to the app submission guidelines.
• Define your UI and UX goals and ensure design consistency.
• Give the right visual weight and balance to the design elements.
• Enrich and ease user experiences with the right design decisions.
• Adapt to different device types, screen types, operating systems, etc.

Importance in marketing and advertising

Understanding the nuances of phone screens is not just important for developers. It is also critical for marketers who want to serve impressive, inspiring, and user-friendly content to their audiences.

It can help marketers and advertisers in the mobile phone industry achieve the following:

• Segment audience based on technographic details (device type, screen type, etc.).
• Design the right app store screenshots and preview videos.
• Create adaptable and customized banners, creatives, videos, etc.
• Select the right design schematics, typography, etc., for ad creatives.
• Determine the suitable word and content density for different screens.
• Ensure content viewability and make it more interactive.

Statistics show that the size of the screen can determine cart abandonments and users are likely to abandon more carts on devices with smaller screens. Clearly, understanding phone screen sizes and resolution is important for all the reasons listed above and more than that.

It becomes especially important for iOS devices and iPhones as they are universal in their appeal and unlike Android, do not have a scattered and heterogeneous market. This also makes it easier to understand the screen specifications on iPhones in a coherent manner.

How to make your app look good on all iPhone screens?

The answer is simple: Follow Apple’s guides.

Apple recommends creating universal designs and using Xcode for creating a storyboard before launching an app. It has full-fledged guides on creating app designs that adapt across devices and screens.

However, if you want an easy and effective way out, you can also create the app with no-code DIY app creators that come with pre-defined environments. Here, you can create apps for all kinds of iOS users.

As a bonus, some may also enable you to test your apps’ designs and features for different iOS device types before you pay to publish. Well, AppMySite does that. You can read more about it here!

How to create an iOS app on a budget?

Have the specifications listed above left you confused? Well, let us uncomplicate things for you. What if we told you that you can create an iOS app from scratch in a completely guided environment and adhere to all the size and resolution guidelines by Apple?

Take our words as gospel! You can sign up for AppMySite and create a mobile app with our DIY mobile app builder without coding.

That’s not it! You can build dynamic, native, and feature-rich iOS apps, design, and customize all your screens and app elements, add features like push notifications and monetization, and do so much more.

Additionally, you can also push your apps on the App Store with AppMySite’s unique and automated ‘Publish App’ feature. Sign up for AppMySite now and create the best iOS app for your business within minutes.

App Store Screenshot requirements for iOS submission

Once the app is developed and built, the next step is to submit it to the app stores. For submitting an iOS app, you will need to add some screenshots from within the app. The Apple App Store has specified exact screenshot sizes for its different devices.

Here are the mandatory specifications and requirements for submitting app screenshots for the iOS app:

Here, you need to note that 6.5 inches and 5.5 inches are the most important display sizes for iPhones and Apple wants you to prioritize them. If you do not want to go through the pain of submitting screenshots for all the sizes listed above, then just create for these two screen sizes based on the specifications above.

Apple will automatically resize your screenshot as long as you have the screenshots for 6.5 and 5.5 inches. This is a standard practice followed by most developers.

Additionally, you must remember that while you must upload a minimum of 4 screenshots, the maximum limit is 10 screenshots for each app listing. You can go through our blog suggested below and know more about it.

Suggested Read: How to design the App Store Screenshots of your mobile app

Frequently asked questions