I’ve used Federico’s Apple Frames shortcut to add device frames to screenshots for years. It’s a great way to quickly process multiple screenshots and upload them to the MacStories CDN with minimal effort. But as great as Shortcuts is for simplifying this sort of task, there are advantages to using a native app instead.
Editing screenshots on the iPad.
Shareshot is an app for iPhone, iPad, and Vision Pro that occupies a lot of the same feature space as Apple Frames, using Apple hardware to frame screenshots. However, the app simultaneously does more and a little less than Federico’s shortcut. That one missing feature means that I won’t be abandoning Apple Frames, but because of the things the app can do that Apple Frames can’t, Shareshot will be joining the shortcut as a utility I expect to use a lot.
Let’s dig into what makes Shareshot shine.
Shareshot isn’t the first app to frame screenshots, but it’s the most tastefully designed one I’ve used. The app is also incredibly easy to use, allowing users to quickly frame iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV screenshots. In addition to official hardware frames, the app lets users add their own custom frames, too.
Editing screenshots in Shareshot.
When you open Shareshot, you’re given three options: frame the most recent screenshot in your photo library, pick another screenshot from among your photos, or choose a screenshot from the file picker. You can also paste screenshots from the system clipboard into Shareshot. Once you’ve chosen a screenshot, the app automatically frames it based on its dimensions. If multiple devices match the screenshot’s size, Shareshot picks a frame based on various factors such as the type of device you’re using. It’s a clever educated guess that I expect will be correct for most people, most of the time. If the app gets it wrong, though, you can always swap in another frame.
Shareshot comes with an extensive collection of flat and gradient backgrounds to set your framed screenshot against, as well as the option to use any photo or a blurred version of the screenshot itself as a background. Shareshot’s backgrounds are excellent, and I appreciate the variety available, but I’d also like the option to use a system color picker to create a flat or gradient background with a color I pick myself. Still, it’s a testament to the quality of the built-in backdrops that I haven’t gotten bored of them.
Shareshot offers multiple aspect ratios for framing screenshots.
Near the top of Shareshot’s main view are three aspect ratios and a transparent background option that produce framed shots that work in most social media and web contexts as well as for incorporation into other apps. At the very top of the view are buttons to access the app’s settings and rename the image, too.
The bottom of the main view includes buttons to edit your composition, share it, and adjust its size to 50% or 25% of the original. The Edit view is where you can swap in a different background, change the angle of the image’s light source or eliminate it, and adjust the diffusion of the framed hardware’s drop shadow or remove it. The Edit view also includes options for changing the padding around a device, picking a different hardware frame, changing the frame’s color, and sharing your screenshot.
Shareshot’s ability to use any photo as a backdrop for your screenshots opens up some interesting possibilities.
When you tally all the choices available, it’s a lot. It’s also a testament to the app’s design that I haven’t found a way to create an ugly framed screenshot, except perhaps by picking a horrible photo from my own library. Yet, despite the number of parameters that can be tweaked in Shareshot, it’s very easy to use, making it simple to create images that look great quickly.
Shareshot works with the Vision Pro, too.
It’s also worth noting that Shareshot’s settings include ten app icon options. Screenshots are exported as PNG images by default, but there is a setting to export them as JPEGs instead.
Finally, Shareshot works with Shortcuts. There are actions to frame your last screenshot or a specific screenshot, use a custom background with a screenshot, or open the app with your most recent screenshot. Best of all, the actions that generate framed images all include the ability to set parameters like the aspect ratio, background, and other options described above.
Using transparent backgrounds and a combination of Pixelmator Pro and CleanShot X, it’s possible but not convenient to build multi-device screenshots with Shareshot.
Shareshot is great, and the only reason I don’t plan to use it for most of my screenshot generation needs is that it can only frame one screenshot at a time. You could use transparent backgrounds and then stitch multiple screenshots together, as I’ve done in this review, but I’d prefer to feed the app multiple images, have access to its excellent backgrounds, and let it do all of that work for me. I’d also like the option to frame screen recordings.
That said, Shareshot does things that a shortcut can’t, and the results it produces look fantastic. So, despite a short wishlist of features, I’ve subscribed to the app and expect it will be a staple among the many iOS and iPadOS utilities I use. If you’re a developer, designer, or marketer, or if you you find yourself regularly using screenshots for any other purpose, I highly recommend adding Shareshot to your app toolbox.
Shareshot is available on the App Store as a free download that adds a watermark to the images you create. You can remove the watermark and access other features by subscribing to Shareshot Pro for $1.99/month or $14.99/year, although for the next week, the subscription is available for $1.39/month or $10.99/year as part of the app’s launch week sale.
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