Android 12 will represent the applications being installed using an iOS-inspired animation

Addressing the issue of large applications (eg games), Google will introduce under Android 12 an animation inspired by the rival iOS platform, representing in the shortcut of the application the installation or update process.

Thus, Android users who have just chosen to install a very “voluminous” Android application or game, with many files left to download via the internet connection, will be able to interpret the progress of the installation stage based on a suggestive animation, taking the form of a bar scrolling the application icon, shown on the phone screen in black and white mode.

Specifically, all that is needed for Android users is that until the circular progress bar disappears, the application will provide at most partial functionality, or with some performance slowdowns caused by the installation still running in the background. Once the installation process is complete, the application icon will appear in the usual colors and without the progress bar.

The bad news is that the new functionality requires a certain level of cooperation from software developers, without which the progress bar will only indicate the time left until you can start the application. Ideally, the symbol displayed on Android around the application shortcut should indicate only partial functionality in those applications, suggesting that certain elements are still in the process of being installed. Announced last summer as “play as you download”, the technology intended especially for Android game developers allows the staged installation of the application. For example, when installing a new game you will only have to wait for the first level to download, the rest of the files can be downloaded even while you are playing.