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# Why your app icon looks blurry

An icon that looks crisp in your design app can turn soft or muddy on a phone. These are the usual reasons, and the fix for each.

Last updated 28 September 2026

On this page

1. It's shown very small
2. Lines that are too thin
3. Edges without contrast
4. A weak source image
5. An old cached icon
6. Check yours

**In short**

- Your 1024 px design is mostly seen at 60 pt and smaller, so fine detail can't survive.
- Keep important lines at 20 px or more at 1024 px, and give the main shape clear contrast in brightness.
- Start from 1024 px or a vector, in PNG or SVG, and reinstall the app to clear an old cached icon.

## It's shown very small

Your 1024 px design is mostly seen far smaller.

| Where | Size (px) | Points |
| --- | --- | --- |
| iPhone home screen | 120, 180 | 60 pt @2x, @3x |
| iPhone Settings | 58, 87 | 29 pt @2x, @3x |
| iPhone notifications | 40, 60 | 20 pt @2x, @3x |
| Android launcher | 48 dp | About 144 px on most phones |

At 60 px, one pixel is about 17 pixels of your original. Anything smaller than that simply can't be shown.

## Lines that are too thin

A 12 px line at 1024 px is about 1 px at 87 px, and less than that in notifications. It gets blended into its neighbours and the icon looks out of focus.

- Keep important lines at 20 px or more at 1024 px.
- Cut small details that don't help recognition: texture, fine highlights, small text.
- Aim for one clear shape. Squint at your icon: if the shape disappears, simplify.

## Edges without contrast

Two similar colours side by side merge when shrunk. A mid-green shape on a mid-blue background reads as one blob. Give the main shape clear contrast with its background, in brightness and not just in hue, so it also holds up in tinted mode and on dark home screens.

## A weak source image

- **Upscaled:** a 512 px image stretched to 1024 px is soft at every size. Start from 1024 px or a vector.
- **JPEG:** compression adds noise around edges. Use PNG or SVG.
- **Poor resizing:** some tools shrink images with a fast, rough method. Xcode and a good exporter use high-quality resampling.

## An old cached icon

If a fixed icon still looks wrong on your test device, it may be the old one. Delete the app, restart the device and install again. On a Mac, the Dock can also hold on to an old icon until you log out and back in.

## Check yours

The free [App Icon Score](https://iconoven.com/tools/app-icon-score) shows your icon at the real small sizes, on light and dark home screens and in tinted mode, and gives it a score out of 5 with a tip for each check.

## More guides

- [Where to get an app icon](https://iconoven.com/guides/where-to-get-an-app-icon): A designer, an AI image tool or a ready-made icon: what each costs, how long it takes and what you end up with.
- [Make an icon for iOS 26 and later in Icon Composer](https://iconoven.com/guides/icon-composer-liquid-glass-icon): From a flat design to a layered .icon file with Liquid Glass, dark, clear and tinted looks, then into Xcode.
- [Android themed icons](https://iconoven.com/guides/android-themed-icon): Add the monochrome layer so your icon takes on the wallpaper colours on Android 13 and later.
- [App icon sizes 2026](https://iconoven.com/guides/app-icon-sizes): Every size iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Android and the web need, in one table.

## Score your icon

See how your icon reads at 29 pt, on dark and tinted home screens, with a tip for each check. Nothing is uploaded.

[Open App Icon Score](https://iconoven.com/tools/app-icon-score)

Source: https://iconoven.com/guides/blurry-app-icon