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How to Create the Perfect Simulator Status Bar for App Previews and Screenshots

  • lioneldude
  • Sep 3
  • 2 min read

When you’re preparing App Store screenshots or App Previews, every detail counts. Apple’s design guidelines expect your mockups to look polished, professional, and free of distracting elements like low battery or inconsistent time displays. Luckily, Xcode’s simctl tool gives us full control over the simulator’s status bar.


Here’s how to set the ideal status bar for your screenshots — with the classic 9:41 time, full connectivity, and a fully charged battery.


iOS Simulator 9:41
iOS Simulator with 9:41 in the time, full cellular bars, wifi signal and 100% battery

The Command


Ensure your Xcode Simulator is running before executing the command in Terminal.


Run the following in your terminal:

xcrun simctl status_bar booted override \
  --time "9:41" \
  --cellularMode active --cellularBars 4 \
  --dataNetwork wifi --wifiMode active --wifiBars 3 \
  --batteryState charged --batteryLevel 100

What this does:


  • Time → Sets the clock to 9:41, Apple’s traditional keynote reveal time.

  • Cellular → Full 4 bars, active connection.

  • Wi-Fi → Full 3 bars, active connection.

  • Battery → 100%, fully charged, with the charging icon.


The result is a clean, consistent status bar that matches what users see in Apple’s own promotional images.


👉 Pro tip: Combine this with device bezels and gradient backgrounds in Photoshop or Figma to create App Store visuals that stand out.


Why 9:41?


Apple uses 9:41 AM as the iconic time in marketing materials — it’s when Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone in 2007. Using this time gives your screenshots a subtle polish and helps them feel more “official.”



Tips for the Perfect Screenshot Setup



  1. Boot your simulator first

    Make sure the correct simulator device (e.g., iPhone 15 Pro) is running before you run the command.

  2. Reset when done

    To go back to normal, run:

xcrun simctl status_bar booted clear


For App Previews (Video)


With the clean simulator bar, you can create screen recordings within the simulator. Launch your app, then go to File > Record Screen. When finished, click the stop button.


Import your files into your preferred video editing software, and ensure they are properly rescaled. App Previews need to be at 30 fps, so verify that your frame rate is set accordingly.


Take a look at my newest app, now available on the App Store:


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