How to Make an App Icon Suitable for Most Devices

Your app icon is the first thing users see. It appears on home screens, app stores, notifications, shortcuts, smart TVs, watches, and even search results. But here’s the challenge: different operating systems use different shapes, some are rounded squares, some are circles, and some use custom “squircles.” 

This guide will help you design one master icon that works everywhere, whether you're running a native app or a PWA app.

Start With the Right Canvas Size

The best universal starting point is:

1024 × 1024 pixels (square)

Why 1024×1024?

• It’s the required App Store size for iOS
• It scales perfectly for Android
• It works for PWA icons
• It gives you enough resolution for all store and device variations

If you need a lighter option, 512×512 minimum also works, especially for PWA platforms like Liteit.app.

The Safe Area Rule (The Most Important Part)

Different devices apply different icon masks. That means the system may crop your icon into:

• A circle
• A rounded square
• A squircle
• Or other adaptive shapes

To prevent your logo from being cut off, you must keep your brand centered inside a safe zone.

• The Perfect Layout
• Full canvas: 1024 × 1024 px
• Safe area (centered): 820 × 820 px
• Leave about 100 px margin on all sides

Visual Guide

Everything important (logo, symbol, key shape) should stay inside the 820×820 area.

Anything outside that area may be clipped on certain devices.

Should You Round the Corners?

No.

Do not round your icon or make it circular manually.

Operating systems automatically apply their own mask styles. If you round it yourself, it may look double-rounded or uneven on some devices.

For Liteit.app apps, it’s actually better for icons not to be pre-rounded or circular. Just upload a clean square icon with proper spacing.

Exporting the Icon Correctly

Once your logo is perfectly centered inside the 820×820 safe area:

Export the image as PNG

Keep it square (1024×1024 recommended)

Ensure the background fills the entire square

Then use:

https://icon.kitchen/

This free tool generates perfectly optimized icons for multiple platforms.

Icon.kitchen provides ready-to-use exports for:

• Android Icon
• iOS Icon
• Web Icons
• macOS Icon
• watchOS Icon
• tvOS App Icon
• Android TV Banner
• Play Store Banner (Beta)

It saves hours of manual resizing and ensures proper formatting for every platform.

Recommended Icon Size for Liteit.app

For apps built on https://blog.liteit.app/

• and the Liteit.app platform:
• Minimum: 512 × 512 px square
• Recommended: 1024 × 1024 px square
• Any square format works
• Do not round corners manually
• Keep your logo centered with safe margins

How to Update Your App Icon on Liteit.app

Updating your icon is simple:

Dashboard → Apps → Select your app → Design → Update App Icon

Upload your new square PNG file, and you’re done.

Works for Both Native Apps and PWAs

This method works whether you are:

• Publishing a native Android or iOS app
• Building a Progressive Web App (PWA)
• Distributing across stores and devices
• Using Liteit.app to power your B2B app

Design once correctly, and your icon will look perfect everywhere.

Final Checklist Before Uploading

✔ Square canvas (1024×1024 preferred)

✔ Logo centered inside 820×820 safe area

✔ Proper spacing around edges

✔ Not pre-rounded

✔ Exported as PNG

✔ Background fills entire canvas

A well-designed icon builds trust, improves recognition, and increases installs. Spend time getting it right once, and your brand will look professional on every device.