As an indie iOS app developer, keeping up with Apple’s hardware can get expensive fast. From the Mac to the iPhones and iPads.

I’m focusing on native iPhone apps and currently use an iPhone 7 as my daily driver. I’m considering getting a new iPhone and want to find the right balance between 1.) phone size I want to use daily and 2.) phone is optimal for App Store Connect previews (videos) & screenshots.

Since I’m an AR app developer, having iPhone hardware is essential (the Simulator doesn’t cut it).

Looking at the state of iPhone hardware today (Dec 2018), some quick Googling shows that the iPhone 7, 7+/8+, and X form factors are the most common in the US.

When we look at Apple’s App preview & screenshot guidelines, it tells us that the 5.5 inch (iPhone 8+, etc) form factor is required (screenshots) and recommended (app previews).

For 2019, my guess is that supporting the 5.5 inch (8+) form factor and the 5.8 inch (X/XS) on App Store Connect would give me the most bang for my buck. It would be nice to have both a XS & XS Max to test with, but that’s way out of my budget.

Curiously enough, the app preview video resolutions are the same across the X line (X, XS, XS Max, XR at 886 x 1920 pixels (when portrait). The video resolution is bigger at 1080 x 1920 pixels for the plus line (8+, etc).

Using App Store Connect, I was able to manually verify the different screenshot upload resolutions for the iPhone XS Max (1242 × 2688), iPhone XS (1125 × 2436), and iPhone 8+ (1242 × 2208). It seems like there is no point to try to take or upload iPhone XR screenshots.

In summary, the iPhone plus (8+, etc) line is the most important for app previews & screenshots. After that, the XS & XS Max (in that order) will give you more App Store Connect coverage with diminishing returns.