diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/apple.yml b/.gitea/workflows/apple.yml
index 058b189..aea7818 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/apple.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/apple.yml
@@ -45,17 +45,22 @@ jobs:
 
   # App Store screenshots of the real UI, zipped and attached to the run as a build artifact.
   # Skipped on PRs (cost); runs on main pushes + manual dispatch. Needs the build/test job green
-  # first — and being a separate job, a capture hiccup (a missing Simulator runtime, or the mac
-  # runner lacking Screen Recording permission for the window capture) can never red that signal.
+  # first, and is a separate job so a capture hiccup can never red the core signal.
+  #
+  # Scope = the two REQUIRED iOS sizes (iPhone 6.9" + iPad 13"), captured on the Simulator
+  # (`simctl io screenshot`, no Screen Recording grant needed). macOS and tvOS are deliberately
+  # NOT in CI: the self-hosted runner is headless (no window-server session), so the mac window
+  # capture can't run there; tvOS needs the Tier-3 build-std slice. Generate those two locally on
+  # a GUI Mac with `clients/apple/tools/screenshots.sh macos tvos`.
   screenshots:
     needs: swift
     if: gitea.event_name != 'pull_request'
     runs-on: macos-arm64
-    timeout-minutes: 90
+    timeout-minutes: 75
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
-      - name: Rust toolchain + Apple targets (incl. iOS/tvOS Simulator slices)
+      - name: Rust toolchain + iOS Simulator targets
         run: |
           if ! command -v rustup >/dev/null && [ ! -x "$HOME/.cargo/bin/rustup" ]; then
             curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs \
@@ -65,29 +70,18 @@ jobs:
           dirname "$RUSTUP" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"
           "$RUSTUP" target add aarch64-apple-darwin x86_64-apple-darwin \
             aarch64-apple-ios aarch64-apple-ios-sim x86_64-apple-ios
-          # tvOS slices are Tier-3 (build-std on nightly + rust-src) — best-effort.
-          "$RUSTUP" toolchain install nightly --profile minimal --component rust-src || true
 
-      - name: Build PunktfunkCore.xcframework (mac + iOS; tvOS best-effort)
-        run: |
-          # Prefer an all-platform framework; fall back to mac + iOS so a tvOS toolchain gap
-          # never blocks the iPhone/iPad screenshots.
-          if ! BUILD_IOS=1 BUILD_TVOS=1 bash scripts/build-xcframework.sh; then
-            echo "::warning::tvOS xcframework slice failed — rebuilding mac + iOS only"
-            BUILD_IOS=1 bash scripts/build-xcframework.sh
-          fi
+      - name: Build PunktfunkCore.xcframework (mac + iOS slices)
+        run: BUILD_IOS=1 bash scripts/build-xcframework.sh
 
-      - name: Capture screenshots (best-effort per platform)
+      - name: Capture screenshots (iPhone 6.9" + iPad 13"; auto-creates the Simulators)
         working-directory: clients/apple
         env:
           SETTLE: "8" # Simulators settle slower than a local run
         run: |
-          # Each platform is an independent invocation: a failure (no Simulator runtime, no
-          # Screen Recording grant for the mac window capture) skips that platform, not the rest.
-          bash tools/screenshots.sh macos || echo "::warning::macOS screenshots skipped"
-          bash tools/screenshots.sh ios   || echo "::warning::iOS screenshots skipped"
-          bash tools/screenshots.sh ipad  || echo "::warning::iPad screenshots skipped"
-          bash tools/screenshots.sh tvos  || echo "::warning::tvOS screenshots skipped"
+          # Independent invocations: one platform failing skips it, not the other.
+          bash tools/screenshots.sh ios  || echo "::warning::iOS (iPhone 6.9\") screenshots skipped"
+          bash tools/screenshots.sh ipad || echo "::warning::iPad 13\" screenshots skipped"
           echo "Produced:"; ls -la screenshots || true
 
       - name: Upload screenshots (zip artifact)
diff --git a/clients/apple/README.md b/clients/apple/README.md
index cb6170f..12ffccf 100644
--- a/clients/apple/README.md
+++ b/clients/apple/README.md
@@ -214,12 +214,17 @@ Requirements / gotchas:
 - The hero defaults to a synthetic synthwave frame — set `PUNKTFUNK_SHOT_HERO` to a real captured
   frame for a production-quality lead screenshot.
 
-**CI**: the `apple` workflow's **`screenshots`** job runs this on the `macos-arm64` runner on every
-main push + manual dispatch (skipped on PRs), and attaches the result as a single zip artifact,
-**`punktfunk-appstore-screenshots`** (download it from the run's Artifacts). It's best-effort and
-isolated from the build/test job — a missing Simulator runtime or a runner without the Screen
-Recording grant only drops that platform, never reds the build. (The macOS window capture in
-particular needs that grant on the runner; the Simulator shots don't.)
+**CI**: the `apple` workflow's **`screenshots`** job runs on the `macos-arm64` runner on every main
+push + manual dispatch (skipped on PRs), and attaches the result as a single zip artifact,
+**`punktfunk-appstore-screenshots`** (download it from the run's Artifacts; `upload-artifact@v3` —
+Gitea's backend rejects v4). It captures the two **required iOS sizes — iPhone 6.9" + iPad 13"** —
+on the Simulator (auto-creating the device if the runner lacks it), and is isolated from the
+build/test job so a capture hiccup never reds the build.
+
+**macOS and tvOS are NOT in CI**, by design: the self-hosted runner is **headless** (no
+window-server session), so the macOS window capture can't run there, and tvOS needs the Tier-3
+build-std slice. Generate those on a GUI Mac: `tools/screenshots.sh macos tvos`. (If the runner is
+ever switched to a logged-in GUI session, re-adding macOS to the job's capture step is one line.)
 
 ## Notes for whoever picks this up next
 
diff --git a/clients/apple/tools/screenshots.sh b/clients/apple/tools/screenshots.sh
index 6ec6b4b..8119d56 100755
--- a/clients/apple/tools/screenshots.sh
+++ b/clients/apple/tools/screenshots.sh
@@ -87,15 +87,30 @@ shoot_macos() {
 
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------ iOS / iPadOS / tvOS
 
-# $1 device-name regex  $2 scheme  $3 sdk  $4 file prefix  $5 runtime-grep
+# $1 device-type regex (matches both existing device names and the device-type catalog)
+# $2 scheme  $3 sdk  $4 file prefix  $5 runtime platform (iOS|tvOS — for the create fallback)
 shoot_sim() {
   require_xcode
-  local match="$1" scheme="$2" sdk="$3" prefix="$4" runtime="$5"
+  local match="$1" scheme="$2" sdk="$3" prefix="$4" platform="$5"
 
+  # Reuse an existing device of this type; else create a throwaway one against the newest
+  # available runtime for the platform. CI runners commonly ship a runtime but not every device
+  # (the iPhone 16 Pro Max is absent on ours), so create-on-demand is what makes it reproducible.
   local udid
   udid="$(xcrun simctl list devices available | grep -E "$match" | grep -oE '[0-9A-F-]{36}' | head -1 || true)"
-  [ -n "$udid" ] || die "$prefix: no available Simulator matching /$match/.
-       Create one in Xcode → Settings → Components, or: xcrun simctl create …"
+  if [ -z "$udid" ]; then
+    local devtype rt
+    devtype="$(xcrun simctl list devicetypes | grep -E "$match" \
+      | grep -oE 'com\.apple\.CoreSimulator\.SimDeviceType\.[A-Za-z0-9.-]+' | head -1 || true)"
+    rt="$(xcrun simctl list runtimes available | grep -E "^$platform " \
+      | grep -oE 'com\.apple\.CoreSimulator\.SimRuntime\.[A-Za-z0-9.-]+' | tail -1 || true)"
+    if [ -n "$devtype" ] && [ -n "$rt" ]; then
+      udid="$(xcrun simctl create "pf-shot-$prefix" "$devtype" "$rt" 2>/dev/null || true)"
+      [ -n "$udid" ] && log "$prefix — created Simulator $udid ($devtype)"
+    fi
+  fi
+  [ -n "$udid" ] || die "$prefix: no Simulator matching /$match/, and none could be created
+       (needs a $platform runtime + a matching device type — check 'xcrun simctl list')."
   log "$prefix — Simulator $udid"
   xcrun simctl boot "$udid" 2>/dev/null || true
   xcrun simctl bootstatus "$udid" -b >/dev/null 2>&1 || true