The 1024×500 Feature Graphic: Designing Yours Right

The feature graphic is a 1024 × 500 image that sits at the top of your Play Store listing on tablets and in featured placements. It's mandatory — you cannot publish without one. And it's where most indie apps make a bad first impression because it requires actual graphic design, not screenshot capture.

The required dimensions

Exactly 1024 × 500 pixels. No transparency. JPEG or 24-bit PNG. Maximum file size 1 MB. Smaller files load faster on slow connections — aim for 200–400 KB after compression.

Where it actually appears

On phones, the feature graphic is hidden. The store shows your icon, title, short description, and screenshots — the feature graphic doesn't appear unless you're featured by Google. On tablets, it sits at the top of every listing visit. In Google's editorial placements (Editor's Choice, Top Charts, category banners), it's often the primary visual.

The implication: design for the cases where it matters. Tablet users and Google editors. Both of those audiences are predisposed to like good design — your feature graphic should look like marketing material, not a screenshot.

Composition rules

Safe zone: keep critical content within the center 924 × 400 region. Play sometimes crops the edges, especially on smaller tablets in landscape orientation.

Text size: if you include text (and you probably should), keep it large — at least 36px equivalent at 1024 wide. The graphic is viewed at thumbnail sizes too, where small text becomes unreadable.

Focal point: place your primary subject left-of-center. Tablet listings put a small play button overlay in the right portion of the graphic; right-aligned content can get covered.

What to put in it

The three components that work, in order: brand name, one-line value prop, product imagery.

The brand name appears even though it's already in your title and icon, because the graphic is sometimes the only branded element shown in editorial placements.

The one-line value prop is your short description re-skinned as a billboard. "Build habits that actually stick". "The fastest way to convert your invoices". "A calmer way to track your money". Concrete, benefit-led, short enough to read in one glance.

Product imagery — a hero shot of your icon, a stylized device frame with a screenshot, an illustration of your product in use — gives the eye something to land on after reading the text.

What not to put in it

• Awards and accolades. "Editor's Choice 2025", "5-star rated", "Featured by TechCrunch" — Google rejects these as misleading promotional claims unless documented.
• Pricing claims. "Free", "Limited time", "50% off" — same rejection category as awards.
• Call-to-action buttons. "Download Now" or "Install Free" faked as a button. Misleading and rejected.
• Device frames that look like competitors' devices. An iPhone-shaped device frame for an Android app violates Google's policy against misleading branding.

Designing one if you're not a designer

The wizard's asset studio includes a feature graphic generator. You provide your icon and a brand color; it produces a 1024 × 500 graphic with your icon centered-left, your app name and short description rendered in the brand color's contrast pair, and a subtle background gradient. The output isn't art-directed for a flagship app, but it's clean, professional, and meets Google's requirements.

If you want to hire it out, expect to pay $50–200 for a competent freelancer on Fiverr or Dribbble. Provide them with your app icon, brand colors, and 2–3 examples of feature graphics in your category that you like the look of.

Iteration over time

Your feature graphic is updateable. Many successful indies refresh it 2–4 times a year — seasonal art, new feature highlights, holiday tie-ins. Play Console doesn't treat graphic updates as a new app review, so changes go live within an hour. This is a low-cost lever for keeping your listing feeling alive.