Launch videos for mobile apps

Published 28 September 2026.

An app launch video gets watched on the same phone the app will live on, so make it vertical and make it short. In 15 seconds of 9:16, show what the app does in the first two seconds, then one tap and its result, then how to find it in the store; everything else is optional.

What to show, beat by beat

For a 15-second vertical cut:

1. 0 to 2 seconds: the outcome. The finished thing on screen: the booked table, the tracked run, the translated menu. Lead with what someone gets, not the logo.
2. 2 to 8 seconds: one tap, one result. A real screen from the app, big, with a short caption saying what just happened. Two or three screens at most, each held long enough to read.
3. 8 to 12 seconds: the reason to install now. Free to start, works offline, no sign-up: whichever is true and matters most.
4. 12 to 15 seconds: where to get it. The app's name as people will type it into the store search, plus the store badges if you use them.

For a 30-second cut, add a second screen that shows a different moment of use, not a settings page.

Which shape and length for which channel

• TikTok, Reels and Shorts: 9:16, 15 seconds, posted where people already scroll on the phone they'd install it on. See our TikTok specs and Instagram Reels specs.
• Your app's website: 9:16 works here too, in a phone-shaped frame beside your store badges, or 16:9 if the page is wide.
• App store listings: Apple's App Store and Google Play each have their own preview video rules, separate from social platforms, so check their developer documentation before you reuse a social cut there.

Facts first

App claims go stale fast. Why? Because a store rating or download count is true on the day you screenshot it and wrong a month later, so only show one if you're happy to update the video, and say where it's from. Safer proof is something that doesn't move (what the free version includes, which devices it runs on, a feature you really ship), and it'll still be true when someone finds the video next year. If you put the Apple or Google badges on screen, use the official artwork and follow each store's badge guidelines.

The how to make a launch video guide covers the order of beats in more detail.

Mistakes that make app videos look like every other

• A floating phone mock-up with a tiny screen inside. On a phone, that screen ends up a few centimetres wide. Fill more of the frame with the app itself.
• Showing the onboarding. Sign-up screens are the least interesting part of any app, and nobody installs anything to see a password field. Start where the value starts.
• "Link in bio" as the only call to action. Also give the name people should search for in the store.
• Captions under the app's buttons. On TikTok and Reels, the right-hand edge and the bottom are covered by the platform's own buttons and caption. Keep your words in the middle.

How Launch Video Maker would make it

If your app has a website, give us the address: we read it, pull out your colours, logo and the screenshots on it, and list the facts we could show for you to approve. If it doesn't, choose "Build it from scratch" when you sign in. You write what the app does, who it's for and the facts you want on screen, then upload your logo and up to eight screenshots with a caption each. Only facts you've written or approved can appear.

A single 15-second vertical cut is the Short, £9. If you want 30 seconds, or the 16:9 and 4:5 cuts for your website and feeds as well, the Reel is £29 and the Bundle £49. Start with your web address, or start from your logo and a few facts.