App Icons on iPad and iPhone

http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#qa/qa1686/_index.html
http://developer.apple.com/library/iOS/#documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/MobileHIG/IconsImages/IconsImages.html
Technical Q&A QA1686

App Icons on iPad and iPhone

Q: How are the icon files in my application bundle used on iPad and iPhone?

A: Below are guidelines for handling icon files for iPhone-only apps, iPad-only apps, and universal apps.

Important: Icons marked with "Required" must be supplied in your application bundle.

Note: iTunesArtwork icon file should be in png format, but name it without the .png extension.

iPhone-only Apps

Include the following in your application's Resources group in the Xcode project:

Table 1 iPhone-only apps icon requirements.

Image Size (px)	File Name	Used For	Required Status
512x512	iTunesArtwork	Ad Hoc iTunes	Optional but recommended
57x57	Icon.png	App Store and Home screen on iPhone/iPod touch	Required
114x114	Icon@2x.png	Home screen for iPhone 4 High Resolution	Optional but recommended
72x72	Icon-72.png	Home screen for iPad compatibility	Optional but recommended
29x29	Icon-Small.png	Spotlight and Settings	Optional but recommended
50x50	Icon-Small-50.png	Spotlight for iPad compatibility	Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, otherwise optional but recommended
58x58	Icon-Small@2x.png	Spotlight and Settings for iPhone 4 High Resolution	Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, otherwise optional but recommended

Your Resources group should look similar to Figure 1:

Figure 1 Add files to Resources group


Except for iTunesArtWork icon, list the names of each of these files in the

Icon files

entry in the

Info.plist

. Follow the steps in "Add Icon files in Info.plist" section below. See
Figure 4.

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iPad-only Apps

Include the following in your application's Resources group in the Xcode project:

Table 2 iPad-only apps icon requirements.

Image Size (px)	File Name	Used For	Required Status
512x512	iTunesArtwork	Ad Hoc iTunes	Optional but recommended
72x72	Icon-72.png	App Store and Home screen on iPad	Required
50x50	Icon-Small-50.png	Spotlight on iPad	Optional but recommended
29x29	Icon-Small.png	Settings on iPad	Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, otherwise optional but recommended

Except for iTunesArtWork icon, list the names of each of these files in the

Icon files

entry in the

Info.plist

. Follow the steps in "Add Icon files in Info.plist" section below. See
Figure 5.

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Universal Apps

Include the following in your application's Resources group in the Xcode project:

Table 3 Universal apps icon requirements.

Image Size (px)	File Name	Used For	Required Status
512x512	iTunesArtwork	Ad Hoc iTunes	Optional but recommended
57x57	Icon.png	App Store and the Home screen on iPhone/iPod touch	Required
114x114	Icon@2x.png	Home screen for iPhone 4 High Resolution	Optional but recommended
72x72	Icon-72.png	App Store and Home screen on iPad	Required
50x50	Icon-Small-50.png	Spotlight on iPad	Optional but recommended
29x29	Icon-Small.png	Settings on iPad and iPhone, and Spotlight on iPhone	Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, otherwise optional but recommended
58x58	Icon-Small@2x.png	Spotlight and Settings for iPhone 4 High Resolution	Recommended if you have a Settings bundle, otherwise optional but recommended

Except for iTunesArtWork icon, list the names of each of these files in the

Icon files

entry in the

Info.plist

. Follow the steps in "Add Icon files in Info.plist" section below. See
Figure 4.

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Add Icon files in Info.plist

To add the

Icon files

entry you will need to manually edit your

Info.plist

.

Open your

Info.plist

in Xcode, and locate the "

Icon file

" entry. Click on the plus (+) button at the end of the entry to make a new key entry. as shown in
Figure 2.

Figure 2 Add a new entry under "Icon file" key


Then, type "

Icon files

" in the key column (notice the "

s

" added), or choose "

Icon files

" from the drop down list, as shown in
Figure 3.

Figure 3 Add "Icon files" key in Info.plist


Next, turn down the disclosure triangle on "

Icon files

" and add the entries for the icons for your application, as shown in
Figure 4 and Figure 5:

Figure 4 Add icon file entries for iPhone-only or Universal apps.

Figure
5 Add entries for iPad icon files.


Note: If you don't provide one of the listed optional icons, the system will automatically scale one of your existing icons to an appropriate size. However, it is strongly recommended that your application supply all the icons listed with
specific sizes needed.

For additional information, see the Build-Time
Configuration Details section in the iOS Application Programming Guide.

For details on using the

CFBundleIconFiles

key, see
Information Property List Key Reference. For information
on creating your applications icons, see the Application
Icons section of the iOS Human Interface Guidelines.

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Document Revision History

Date	Notes
2011-07-14	After iOS 4.3, order doesn't matter in the icon arrangement. Added links to related references.
2010-07-14	Fixed outdated "Add Icon files in Info.plist" section.
2010-07-12	Updated for iOS 4 requirements.
2010-04-09	New document that explains how the icon files in an application bundle are used on iPad and iPhone.

© 2011 Apple Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Last updated: 2011-07-14)

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