App Store product page header and search results assets: how to use them

ONLYAPPS publishes its own apps on the App Store, so every new field in App Store Connect lands on our to-do list. On October 5, 2026 Apple announced new creative assets for product pages and search results, and the version page changed with it. Product Page Information now has two tabs, Header and Search Results and App Previews and Screenshots, and the first one holds two empty slots marked "0 of 1".

Below we explain what these slots are, list the exact specifications, show how review works now that assets live in a separate Asset Library, and describe how we plan to use them. Everything comes from Apple's own material: the asset best practices, the creative assets specifications, the help article Manage your App Store assets and the WWDC26 session Enhance your presence on the App Store.

What appeared in App Store Connect

Product page header. An image or video at the top of the product page. Apple calls it the first visual element people see when they land on your app. Unlike screenshots, it does not have to show the app in use: creative assets exist for the brand, the value proposition, seasonal offers and new content.

Search results asset. An image or video that replaces the default screenshots in your search result. If you don't add one, the App Store shows what it showed before: In-App Events, app previews and screenshots.

Asset Library. A new section in the app's sidebar that holds every image and video: screenshots, app previews, in-app event media and the new creative assets. You can upload and submit assets there without an app version and without saying where they will be used, so they can be approved in advance.

Preview. The Preview button shows the product page and the search result with your assets on iPhone and iPad, in different orientations and languages, before anything goes live. Apple's announcement adds that it supports Dark Mode.

Both placements are optional. Apple describes them for iOS and iPadOS apps and games on iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 and later, so screenshots and previews remain the base of your page. Each slot takes exactly one asset per page, which is what "0 of 1" in the interface means.

Specifications

Details that are easy to miss:

• ✦Images can't contain an alpha channel or transparency. Export flattened files.
• ✦Header and search results videos run at 30 or 60 fps and come as .mov, .m4v or .mp4.
• ✦Videos loop continuously. In search results they are muted and can't be unmuted; on the product page they start muted, but people can turn the sound on.
• ✦The option "Use header asset in search results" exists only for a universal creative asset. The specifications list the 16:9 universal size for images only, so video for both places means two files: 21:9 and 3:2.

Apple's best practices page links templates for Figma, Sketch, Photoshop and Pixelmator, with separate files for the header, for search results and for the universal asset. Starting from them saves you from guessing the safe area.

What to put in each slot

The two placements do different jobs, and Apple's guidance says so directly.

Header: one clear idea. Design it for someone who sees the app for the first time. A single message works better than a collage of features. Apple suggests product page optimization for testing alternative header visuals.

Search results: the purpose at a glance. In search the asset competes with neighboring apps, so it should make clear what the app does and give a firsthand look at the experience: the interface, the content or the gameplay.

Rules for both. Creative assets go through App Review, and the best practices page lists what causes trouble:

• ✦What you show must relate to the app's general functionality, even when the scene is outside the app.
• ✦No specific prices, discounts, website URLs or copyright symbols.
• ✦No unverifiable claims, such as awards the app hasn't received, and no Apple recognitions like Editor's Choice or App of the Day.
• ✦No logos or references to other platforms or marketplaces. We have met this rule before: one of our apps was rejected under guideline 2.3.10 because an onboarding screen said "Android & iOS".
• ✦Assets must suit a 4+ age rating, even if the app itself is rated higher.

For images, keep the text short, localize it for every language and keep the focal point centered, with key elements inside the safe area. For video, pick a poster frame that works on its own, lead with the strongest feature, avoid fast cuts, make the loop seamless and make sure the story works without sound.

From upload to the live page

1. 01Download a template and prepare files for each placement and localization.
2. 02Upload them, either in Asset Library (the + button, then Upload Creative Assets) or on the version page in Header and Search Results. Browse Assets picks something already in the library.
3. 03Click Preview and check iPhone and iPad, both orientations and every language.
4. 04Send the assets for review. Before the app has an approved version, they go together with the first version. After that you can submit them on their own from Asset Library, and a standalone submission is reviewed against the latest version of the selected platform.
5. 05Assets attached to a version go live once that version is approved and released.
6. 06For a version that is already on the App Store, choose an approved asset with Browse Assets and click Publish. The page updates without a new version and without another review.

Each asset shows its status, from Prepare for Submission to Approved. One status deserves attention: Accepted means the asset passed, but something else in the same submission was rejected, and nothing from that submission is published until everything is accepted. Don't bundle an experimental asset with an urgent release.

Roles matter as well. Account Holder, Admin, App Manager and Marketing can manage assets, but only Account Holder, Admin and App Manager can submit them from Asset Library. An asset can be deleted only while its status is Prepare for Submission; after that it can only be archived. Removing an asset from a placement doesn't delete it from the library.

If you automate releases, the App Store Connect API can upload and submit assets too.

Five ways to use the new slots

1. 01Seasonal campaigns without release stress. Get a winter or holiday visual approved in Asset Library weeks ahead, then switch the header on the right day with Publish. The WWDC26 session shows exactly this: a summer hiking header swapped for a winter one without a new submission.
2. 02One look across surfaces. A universal 16:9 asset puts the same visual in the header and in search results. Apple recommends it for a seamless experience: the person who tapped a search result sees the same picture on the page.
3. 03Custom product pages for each audience. Every custom product page can have its own header, for example the banner from the campaign that links to it, and a deep link into the matching part of the app. The WWDC26 session also shows different search result visuals for different search keywords.
4. 04Tests instead of opinions. Product page optimization can test alternative header visuals and show which message your audience responds to: the logo, the core value or a new feature.
5. 05Ads from the same files. According to the WWDC26 session, the same assets can power Apple Ads in search results and on the Today tab.

Checklist

• ✦Decide what each placement says: the header carries one idea, the search result shows what the app does.
• ✦Start from Apple's templates and keep key elements inside the safe area.
• ✦Export images without transparency: 21:9 at 3840 × 1646, 3:2 between 1920 × 1280 and 3840 × 2560, or a universal 16:9 PNG at 5244 × 2950.
• ✦Make videos 5–30 seconds long at 30 or 60 fps, with a seamless loop and a story that works muted.
• ✦Remove prices, URLs, awards, Apple badges and mentions of other platforms, and keep the content suitable for 4+.
• ✦Localize the text inside assets for every language of the product page.
• ✦Check everything in Preview on iPhone and iPad, in both orientations.
• ✦Get seasonal assets approved in Asset Library in advance and switch them with Publish.
• ✦Give the marketing team the Marketing role for uploads and leave submission to App Managers.
• ✦Plan a product page optimization test for the header as soon as you have two candidates.