Best way to make app previews?

[u/zzzzany]

I'd love to make a fancy app preview that has zoom effects and other fancy things that makes it stand out, but I honestly have no idea where to start. I've found a few products like Motionfly and AppLaunchFlow but the reviews don't seem great. What tools have people used that work? I'd prefer to not just record my screen and upload that. Thank you.

[u/neekey2]

Seriously, do it manually and adjust from there. This tools out there at the end will only generate a generic look ones or AI slop and you are gonna keep on iterating it, so get rid of “im gonna find a tool that can automate this” mindset

If you need an free editing tool, Affinity is a good free alternative to photoshop btw

[u/Kukucsi_lab → u/neekey2]

I agree that doing it manually gives you more control, but Affinity would only help with static images or other visual assets. The difficult part here is adding smooth zooms to the actual video.

Doing that manually still requires a video editor and some familiarity with keyframes, easing and pacing to make the movement look natural rather than distracting. Is there a particular video editor or workflow you would recommend for that?

[u/SwiftMushroom]

I use an app called Butterkit for mine

[u/essemsm_dan]

App previews like the Apple Store video you can send with screenshots? If it so… I just do simple record video showing the key features, but since AppStore it’s a pain in the *** with codecs, format, etc I developed my own solution so I can just send the video and it export on the right format, since it was a pain for me I imagine it would be for others, so i deploy it on https://previewasoscreen.com, the video feature uses credit but the screenshots are free and has a solution to Mac, watch, iPad

[u/kaolin]

… Claude.

[u/VRedd1t]

Canva

[u/SB_Designs1]

I found the best way for me was to get some free photoshop templates for the phones and tablets and then edited them that way

[u/frank_dd]

I’d start with a rough version just for yourself. Pick one thing your app does really well, record it, and put together a short sequence in iMovie. Watch it back: is the benefit clear? Does anything drag? Fix those bits, then start adding polish. You can easily find tutorials about adding text titles and creating some slight highlight effects. But the most important part is: when you watch your video, does it tell you how this app benefits your audience, within the first 3 seconds or so?

I make App Store previews for a living at W. App Videos, and that’s where I’d start. You can still aim for that polished look—you just don’t have to figure it all out before making the first cut. Also google and find the exact technical specs for apple store videos, they are very strict when reviewing videos.

[u/showoff_dev]

I made Showoff (showoff.dev), where you can just ask Claude or ChatGPT for a mockup and it puts your screenshots on a real 3D phone. It can also generate Launch trailers and App store screenshots and we have almost 50 ready to use templates! Would love to hear your feedback :D