Why splash screens exist
A first screen takes a moment to prepare, and a blank white screen feels frozen. Splash screens signal the app is opening. People perceive response times differently (Miller, 1968; Card et al., 1991), and beyond about a second the flow of thought starts to break (Nielsen, 1993). Splash screens briefly fill the wait rather than hide it.
Platform guidance
Since Android 12, every app shows an icon-centred default splash that disappears when ready (Android Developers, n.d.). Apple (n.d.) goes further: make the launch screen resemble the first screen so the app feels instantly open, avoiding logos and ads. Both say never prolong it deliberately.
Raising perceived speed
For slow starts, show the first screen early and fill it with skeleton screens rather than extending the splash. If it takes seconds, use a progress indicator (Myers, 1985). Animation alters perceived time (Harrison et al., 2010) but must not add real waiting. Teach newcomers in app onboarding, not the splash.
FAQ
- Can splash screens show branding?
- A brief icon or logo is fine, but never extend the wait for branding.
- How do splash and onboarding differ?
- A splash fills the brief startup moment; onboarding teaches new users how to use the app and its value.
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-27
References
- Android Developers. (n.d.). Splash screens. Android SplashScreen API.
- Apple. (n.d.). Launching. Human Interface Guidelines. Launch screens resembling first screen.
- Miller, R. B. (1968). Response time in man-computer conversational transactions. In Proceedings of the December 9–11, 1968, Fall Joint Computer Conference, Part I (pp. 267–277). ACM. Classic on response time.
- Card, S. K., Robertson, G. G., & Mackinlay, J. D. (1991). The information visualizer, an information workspace. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 181–186). ACM. Response time thresholds.
- Myers, B. A. (1985). The importance of percent-done progress indicators for computer-human interfaces. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 11–17). ACM. Progress indicators ease waiting.
- Harrison, C., Yeo, Z., & Hudson, S. E. (2010). Faster progress bars: Manipulating perceived duration with visual augmentations. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1545–1548). ACM. Animation alters perceived time.
- Nielsen, J. (1993, January 1). Response time limits. Nielsen Norman Group. Attention limits while waiting.