The Android 12+ Splash Screen API

By Michael Samuel Naeem · July 16, 2026 · 4 min read

Android 12 made splash screens mandatory — every app shows one on launch whether you want it or not. If you don't configure it, users see a generic system splash with your launcher icon on a white or black background. The SplashScreen compat library lets you customize the icon, background color, and exit animation, and critically, it backports the behavior to API 23+. The old pattern of a dedicated SplashActivity with a 2-second delay is dead — it fights the system splash, doubles launch time, and Google explicitly discourages it. Configure the system splash properly and delete your splash Activity.

Setup

dependencies {
    implementation("androidx.core:core-splashscreen:1.0.1")
}

Apply the splash theme to your launcher Activity:

<!-- themes.xml -->
<style name="Theme.App.Starting" parent="Theme.SplashScreen">
    <item name="windowSplashScreenBackground">@color/splash_background</item>
    <item name="windowSplashScreenAnimatedIcon">@drawable/splash_icon</item>
    <item name="windowSplashScreenAnimationDuration">1000</item>
    <item name="postSplashScreenTheme">@style/Theme.App</item>
</style>

<!-- AndroidManifest.xml -->
<activity
    android:name=".MainActivity"
    android:theme="@style/Theme.App.Starting"
    android:exported="true">
    <intent-filter>...</intent-filter>
</activity>

Install in Activity

class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        installSplashScreen()
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContent { AppTheme { MainScreen() } }
    }
}

installSplashScreen() must be called before super.onCreate(). The splash dismisses automatically when the first frame draws.

Animated icon

Android 12 supports animated vector drawables as splash icons:

<!-- res/drawable/splash_icon.xml -->
<animated-vector
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:drawable="@drawable/ic_logo_static">
    <target android:name="path" android:animation="@anim/splash_path_anim"/>
</animated-vector>

Keep animations under 1000ms. The system enforces a maximum animation duration. Simple scale/fade works best — complex animations may not render on all devices.

Exit animation

Customize the transition from splash to app content:

override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
    val splashScreen = installSplashScreen()
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)

    splashScreen.setOnExitAnimationListener { splashViewProvider ->
        val slideUp = ObjectAnimator.ofFloat(
            splashViewProvider.view, View.TRANSLATION_Y, 0f, -splashViewProvider.view.height.toFloat()
        ).apply {
            duration = 300
            interpolator = AnticipateInterpolator()
            doOnEnd { splashViewProvider.remove() }
        }
        slideUp.start()
    }

    setContent { AppTheme { MainScreen() } }
}

Always call splashViewProvider.remove() when the animation ends — the system won't dismiss the splash view otherwise.

Keep splash visible during init

For critical initialization that must complete before showing UI:

var isReady = false

override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
    val splashScreen = installSplashScreen()
    splashScreen.setKeepOnScreenCondition { !isReady }
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)

    lifecycleScope.launch {
        loadCriticalData()
        isReady = true
    }

    setContent { AppTheme { MainScreen() } }
}

Use this only for data the first screen absolutely requires. For everything else, show the UI immediately and load asynchronously — see startup optimization.

Migrating from legacy splash

Delete:

• SplashActivity class
• splash_layout.xml
• Intent filter pointing to SplashActivity
• Handler.postDelayed navigation logic
• Any artificial delay

Replace with:

• SplashScreen theme on MainActivity
• installSplashScreen() in onCreate
• Move init logic to Application.onCreate or background coroutines

The system splash shows instantly on tap — faster than any custom splash Activity could render.

Icon sizing

Splash icon guidelines:

• With background: 240×240 dp container, icon within the inner 160 dp circle
• Without background: 288×288 dp
• Use adaptive icon layers for best results on all device shapes

Test on circular, squircle, and rounded-square icon masks.

SplashScreen API on Android 12+ vs older devices

core-splashscreen library backports the Android 12 splash to API 23+:

// build.gradle
implementation("androidx.core:core-splashscreen:1.0.1")

// themes.xml — both values and values-v31
<style name="Theme.App.Starting" parent="Theme.SplashScreen">
    <item name="windowSplashScreenBackground">@color/splash_bg</item>
    <item name="windowSplashScreenAnimatedIcon">@drawable/ic_splash</item>
    <item name="windowSplashScreenAnimationDuration">1000</item>
    <item name="postSplashScreenTheme">@style/Theme.App</item>
</style>

// Android 12+ only (values-v31/themes.xml)
<item name="android:windowSplashScreenBrandingImage">@drawable/branding</item>

On API 31+, system controls splash timing. On API 23–30, library emulates behavior — test both paths.

Conditional splash screen retention

Keep splash visible until critical init completes — but cap retention time:

override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
    val splashScreen = installSplashScreen()
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)

    var isReady = false
    splashScreen.setKeepOnScreenCondition { !isReady }

    lifecycleScope.launch {
        try {
            withTimeout(3000) {  // never block splash >3 seconds
                awaitAll(async { initAuth() }, async { loadConfig() })
            }
        } finally {
            isReady = true
        }
    }
}

Without timeout cap, slow network hangs splash indefinitely — users think app is frozen. 2–3 second maximum retention; show loading UI in app for longer operations.

Splash screen theming for dark mode

Provide separate splash themes for light and dark:

<!-- values/themes.xml -->
<style name="Theme.App.Starting" parent="Theme.SplashScreen">
    <item name="windowSplashScreenBackground">@color/splash_bg_light</item>
    ...
</style>

<!-- values-night/themes.xml -->
<style name="Theme.App.Starting" parent="Theme.SplashScreen">
    <item name="windowSplashScreenBackground">@color/splash_bg_dark</item>
    ...
</style>

Splash background must match app's first screen background — jarring color flash on transition signals poor polish.

Failure modes

• Custom SplashActivity still present — double splash; slower startup
• Artificial delay (Thread.sleep) — Google Play policy violation; users abandon app
• Splash retention without timeout — infinite splash on network failure
• Mismatched splash and app background — visible flash on transition
• Icon too large/small — clipped on circular masks; test all shapes

Production checklist

• Legacy SplashActivity deleted; MainActivity uses SplashScreen theme
• installSplashScreen() called before super.onCreate()
• Retention capped at 3 seconds with timeout
• Light and dark splash themes matching app first screen
• Icon tested on circular, squircle, and rounded-square masks
• No artificial delays in splash or startup path

Resources

• Splash Screen API guide (Android)
• core-splashscreen library reference
• Migrate existing splash screens
• App startup optimization
• Adaptive icons for splash screens