iPhone screenshots are large. A screenshot from an iPhone 15 Pro is 1179 × 2556 pixels at 460 PPI. That’s a 6–8 MB PNG file. For most sharing contexts, that’s more than you need — and the file size and resolution can cause problems you don’t expect.
Here’s how to think about export sizes for different destinations, and how to avoid the most common mistakes.
Why size matters
File size: Large images slow down Notion pages, create friction in Slack (has to load before anyone can see it), and fill up shared drives quickly.
Display size: A full-resolution iPhone screenshot embedded in a Notion doc will display at enormous size, forcing readers to scroll past it. Most tools scale it down automatically, but the embedded dimensions are often wrong.
Pixel density: Retina displays show images at 2× or 3×. If you export at too low a resolution, your screenshots will look soft on modern displays — the opposite problem.
The goal isn’t the smallest file. It’s the right file for where it’s going.
Export sizes by destination
Slack and team messaging: 1× resolution at display size is fine. If your screenshot is being embedded inline in a message, it’ll be displayed at around 400–600px wide. Exporting at 1200px wide gives you enough resolution for someone to expand it without it looking soft, without sending a 6 MB file.
Notion, Confluence, Linear: Similar to Slack. Around 1200–1600px wide works well. These tools compress images on their end, so there’s diminishing return beyond that. Consistent width across screenshots in the same document looks intentional.
App Store screenshots: Apple requires specific pixel dimensions. For iPhone 6.7” displays (iPhone 14 Plus and later), that’s 1290 × 2796 px. Export at exactly this size — App Store Connect will reject screenshots that don’t match the required dimensions.
Social (Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram): Depends on the platform and post format. For a standard in-feed image, 1200 × 675 px (16:9) works well on Twitter/X. Square (1:1) at 1080 × 1080 works across most platforms.
Email or client reports: Aim for images that look sharp on a 13” laptop screen. Around 1400px wide at 2× density gives you a clear image without an enormous file. Compress as PNG or JPEG depending on whether you need transparency.
Export at the right size, every time.
ScreenEdit lets you set a custom canvas size before you export — so your screenshots land at the right dimensions for wherever they're going.
Download ScreenEdit — FreeFree to download · iPhone
PNG vs. JPEG
PNG: lossless, supports transparency, larger file. Use for screenshots where sharpness matters and you’re not hitting file size limits — App Store screenshots, documentation, anything with text.
JPEG: compressed, no transparency, smaller file. Fine for social posts and email attachments where file size matters more than perfect sharpness. Avoid for screenshots with text at small sizes — JPEG compression creates artifacts around edges.
For most screenshot sharing, PNG is the safer default. The file sizes are larger, but screenshots sent to Slack or Notion are compressed by those services anyway.
Consistent sizing in a document
One thing that makes a document look messy: screenshots at different aspect ratios embedded in the same section. A 1:1 square, a 16:9 wide crop, and a full-screen portrait shot all in the same Notion page creates visual noise that makes the content harder to scan.
If you’re putting multiple screenshots together — a walkthrough, a spec, a feature update — decide on one format and export everything at that size. It takes almost no extra effort and makes the whole document look intentional.
Retina display check
Before you share screenshots, view them at display size on a modern screen. If they look soft or pixelated at the intended display size, you exported too small. A useful rule of thumb: export at 2× the display size you expect. If the screenshot will be shown at 600px wide, export at 1200px.
For App Store screenshots, Apple handles this — the required dimensions already account for Retina density.
The simplest approach
If you don’t want to think about this for every screenshot: pick one standard export size for regular team sharing, and one for App Store or social if you need it. Having defaults removes the decision from the workflow entirely.