Android 12 DP3: All apps now show the same splash screen while loading [Gallery]

Ben Schoon | Apr 21 2021 - 11:43 am PT

Splash screens aren’t uncommon on Android, but in its latest release, Google wants to unify the look across all apps. Starting with Android 12 and its third developer preview, all apps will now show a splash screen.

Google detailed this new functionality in its launch post, but in the new preview, we can see it in action. As pictured below, every Android app now shows a splash screen that essentially takes the homescreen icon and puts a background around it. That background either matches the system theme or pulls from the theme of the app.

In some cases, like Google Chrome, this splash screen is brand new in Android 12 and not a part of the app itself. In others, the splash screen gets redesigned, which is what we see with Slack. Regardless of the app, this new screen only appears for as long as it takes the app to load its first screen.

Notably, developers will have the option to customize this new splash screen as needed. As it stands now, though, they’ll need to essentially recreate their splash screen when 12 makes its formal debut. Our Dylan Roussel’s Inware app also sees its splash screen replaced in 12.

In Android 12 we’re making app startup a more consistent and delightful experience. We’ve added a new app launch animation for all apps from the point of launch, a splash screen showing the app icon, and a transition to the app itself. The new experience brings standard design elements to every app launch, but we’ve also made it customizable so apps can maintain their unique branding. For example, you can use new splashscreen APIs and resources to manage the splash screen window’s background color; you can replace the static launcher icon with a custom icon or an animation; you can control the timing to reveal the app; and you can set light mode or dark mode, and manage exit animation.
There’s nothing you need to do to take advantage of the new experience – it’s enabled by default for all apps. We recommend testing your app with the new experience soon, especially if you’re already using a splash screen.

We’re still digging into Android 12’s latest preview, so stay tuned for more, and catch up with all of our coverage here. Feel free to drop a comment below or ping me on Twitter if you see something new!