Localize App Store Screenshots to Chinese (Simplified)
简体中文
Mainland China + Singapore = ~1.3B speakers. China iOS App Store is Apple's #1 market by revenue.
Why Chinese (Simplified) matters
China's App Store is a world of its own: Google Play does not operate in the mainland, so Android users install via Huawei AppGallery, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo stores instead. For iOS, localization quality is scrutinized heavily. Chinese users actively read reviews hunting for translation errors, and App Store review itself rejects politically sensitive imagery.
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Localization tips for Chinese (Simplified)
- 1 Use Noto Sans SC or PingFang SC; never a Traditional font for Simplified. Forms like 门/門, 见/見, 关/關 are genuinely different characters, not styles.
- 2 Simplified (zh-Hans) covers mainland China and Singapore; Traditional (zh-Hant) covers Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao. They are not interchangeable.
- 3 Use full-width punctuation (，。！？) inside Chinese text; half-width Latin commas and periods read as sloppy machine output.
- 4 Chinese is dense. Copy contracts ~50% vs English, so a 6-word headline may be 8-10 characters; keep the font size disciplined rather than ballooning it to fill space.
- 5 Avoid politically sensitive imagery (contested maps or borders, flags). App Store review in China rejects these outright.
- 6 Know the distribution reality: Google Play is absent in the mainland, so Android reach comes via Huawei AppGallery, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo stores, each with its own listing.
Fonts for Chinese (Simplified)
Noto Sans SC, PingFang SC (iOS system), Source Han Sans SC. All carry mainland simplified glyph forms; a Japanese or Traditional Han font renders shared characters (骨, 直, 今) with subtly wrong strokes and lacks or mismaps the simplified forms.
Most common mistake
Submitting Traditional Chinese screenshots to mainland China, or vice versa. Users leave 1-star reviews and you won't understand why. The character sets and vocabulary are different, not just fancier versions of each other.
Chinese (Simplified) localization FAQ
What App Store Connect locale code should I use for Chinese (Simplified)?
Use zh-Hans when adding Chinese (Simplified) (简体中文) screenshots in App Store Connect or Google Play Console. Using the wrong code means your localized screenshots never reach Chinese (Simplified) users.
Does text expansion affect Chinese (Simplified) screenshot design?
Chinese (Simplified) runs -50% vs English on average character count. You should design buttons and headlines with explicit overflow headroom, because text that fits in English will break in Chinese (Simplified).
Does Shotlingo automatically localize screenshots to Chinese (Simplified)?
Yes. Shotlingo auto-translates your App Store screenshot text to Chinese (Simplified) (简体中文) with AI that respects text expansion, and platform-appropriate fonts. Export the localized bundle ready for App Store Connect locale zh-Hans.
Do I have to translate my App Store screenshots to Chinese (Simplified)?
If Chinese (Simplified) is a major market for your app, yes. Unlocalized screenshots significantly reduce conversion, because users scroll past copy they cannot read. Even partial localization (headlines only) typically beats English-only.
Localize your screenshots to Chinese (Simplified) automatically
Shotlingo handles expansion, fonts, and App Store Connect locale codes for you. Free to try.
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