Table of contents
- Quick nav
iOS App Icon Corner Radius: Mask Rules and Export Checklist (2026)
The one-line rule
Ship a full-bleed square iOS / iPadOS app icon master. Do not draw the rounded corners yourself. The system (and App Store presentation) applies the mask. Baking a radius into the asset causes hairline rings, jagged edges, or double-rounded corners across sizes and OS versions.
When people search for "iOS app icon corner radius" or "corner radius pixels", they usually need safe area, preview masking, and a clean square export — not a single official px number to hard-code forever.
Apple's model: you deliver a square
Human Interface Guidelines have long stated that iOS, iPadOS, and macOS app icons are squares with a system-applied mask. Home Screen and Store chrome can evolve (including Liquid Glass / Icon Composer workflows), but the delivery rule stays: orthogonal full-bleed master.
For the broader dual-platform table, see iOS / Android icon guidelines. This piece focuses on corners and masks.
Where "~176px" comes from (preview only)
Design communities often quote ~176–180px radius on a 1024×1024 canvas (sometimes ~22% of the side). Treat that as:
| Use | OK? |
|---|---|
| Preview Home Screen look in Figma / Sketch | Yes — mask or official templates |
Bake into final AppIcon / ASC upload | No — export remains a sharp square |
| Contract language as "the official radius" | Avoid; masks evolve with the OS |
A common preview heuristic is (r \approx 0.2237 \times side). Folk templates disagree slightly — follow the Apple Design Resources / Icon Composer template you actually use, and never mix two radii then export the masked layer.
Figma / handoff checklist
- Canvas 1024×1024 (or the master size your Icon Composer / Xcode flow requires).
- Center the mark; keep ~10–15% margin so the mask does not clip strokes.
- Use a separate preview frame with a squircle mask; export frame stays unrounded.
- Do not fake iOS shadows on the master — the system adds its own presentation.
- For Icon Composer / Liquid Glass layers: submit layered sources; still avoid rasterizing baked corners. See Liquid Glass icon guide.
Safe area: what the mask eats
| Zone | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Corners | No type, hairlines, or tiny badges |
| Edge band | Pull the core glyph in ~10–15% |
| Center | Brand recognition lives here |
| Background | Full bleed; avoid a tiny centered artboard on transparency |
Android adaptive icons use a different 66dp safe zone — see Android adaptive icon safe zone. Do not paste an iOS preview radius onto an Android foreground layer.
Common shipping failures
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Pale ring around the icon | Baked radius + system mask | Re-export sharp square |
| Muddy small sizes / clipped strokes | Unsafe margins | Enlarge mark, simplify |
| Store vs Home mismatch | Wrong preview radius or fake shadow | Official templates; flatten delivery |
| Fine in TestFlight, odd on Store | Wrong slot / unexpected alpha | Verify ASC / Xcode slot rules |
Google Play's 512 store icon is also a full square (Play applies its own mask) — covered in the dual-platform guide.
Self-check
- Delivery is a square with orthogonal corners (preview mask hidden)
- No hand-drawn iOS corners, no fake system shadow
- Critical art inside the safe area
- 1024 master sharp; small sizes legible
- Layered Liquid Glass sources vs flat raster roles are clear
- No Android adaptive layers uploaded to iOS slots
Scaling: what breaks at notification size
You ship one 1024 master, but users see the icon in notifications, Settings, Home Screen, and App Store search. Masks feel more aggressive when the asset is tiny:
- Prioritize legibility when shrunk, not detail at 1024.
- Avoid hairline strokes on the edge — the mask turns them into dirty fringes.
- Be careful with multi-stop gradients that live in corners; some launcher themes make them look corrupted.
- Marketing sites may use a rounded marketing PNG — that is collateral, not the App Icon slot.
If you also ship Android and HarmonyOS, keep preview masks in separate frames so an iOS preview layer never lands in the Android project.
Quick QA matrix before you tag a release
| Surface | What to check |
|---|---|
| Home Screen | Masked preview matches brand; no double corner |
| Settings | Small size still reads as your mark |
| App Store product page | No pale ring; no unexpected transparency |
| TestFlight vs production icon | Same master, no old rounded PNG left in the set |
Archive the square master as AppIcon-1024-square.png and never overwrite it with a masked marketing export.
Takeaway
"What is the iOS app icon corner radius?" For shipping assets: you do not choose it — the system does. Community 176px / 22% numbers are for preview only. Square masters, safe margins, official mask previews, and Icon Composer when you need layered Liquid Glass are the durable 2026 workflow.