RTL (Right-to-Left)

RTL (Right-to-Left) is the writing direction of Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and Urdu. For App Store localization specifically, only Arabic (ar) and Hebrew (he) are supported App Store Connect storefront languages, so those are the two RTL locales you actually design screenshots for. Proper RTL is not translation. It is mirroring: caption text right-aligns, the visual reading order flows right-to-left (your hero message and primary device sit on the right), UI chrome flips, and directional icons like back arrows and progress bars reverse. Bidirectional (bidi) rules keep exceptions LTR: Latin brand names, URLs, and Western digits stay left-to-right even inside an Arabic sentence. Get the mirroring wrong and the layout reads as a machine-translated English screenshot rather than a native one.

Why It Matters

An app that translates Arabic text but leaves an LTR layout signals "we didn't really localize this" to native users, and conversion in Gulf and MENA storefronts drops accordingly. The stakes are large: Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Egypt are high-ARPU or high-volume App Store markets, and Arabic is among the fastest-growing localization targets. Half-mirrored screenshots are especially damaging because the App Store gallery is the first impression. Users judge polish before they ever install. Mirroring also interacts with text expansion: Arabic script height and connected letterforms need more vertical breathing room, so a caption box tuned for English will crop Arabic descenders unless you re-space it.

Example

A fitness app localizes its 6.9-inch (1320×2868) hero screenshot for the Arabic (ar) storefront. Done right, the caption "ابدأ تمرينك الآن" right-aligns, the phone mockup moves to the right edge so the eye enters where Arabic reading begins, and the on-screen back arrow flips to point right. The workout duration "30 min" and the Latin brand name stay LTR via bidi handling. Done wrong (Arabic text poured into the English layout with the mockup still on the left and the arrow pointing left) native testers immediately read it as a translation hack, and the app's install rate in the Saudi and UAE storefronts lags its English markets by double digits.

Frequently Asked Questions