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The best content-loading experience finishes before people become aware of it.

A sketch of a spinning indeterminate activity indicator, suggesting data loading. The image is overlaid with rectangular and circular grid lines and is tinted orange to subtly reflect the orange in the original six-color Apple logo.

Best practices

Show something as soon as possible. If you make people wait for loading to complete before displaying anything, they can interpret the lack of content as a problem with your app or game. Instead, consider showing placeholder text, graphics, or animations as content loads, replacing these elements as content becomes available.

Let people do other things in your app or game while they wait for content to load. Loading content in the background can help you give people access to other actions. For example, your game could load content in the background while players learn about the next level or view an in-game menu. For developer guidance, see Improving the player experience for games with large downloads.

If loading takes an unavoidably long time, give people something interesting to view while they wait. For example, you might provide gameplay hints, display tips, or introduce people to new features. Gauge the remaining loading time as accurately as possible to help you avoid giving people too little time to enjoy your placeholder content or having so much time that you need to repeat it.

Showing progress

Clearly communicate that content is loading and how long it might take to complete. Ideally, content displays instantly, but for situations where loading takes more than a moment or two, you can use system-provided components — called progress indicators — to show that loading is ongoing. In general, you use a determinate progress indicator when you know how long loading will take, and you use an indeterminate progress indicator when you don’t. For guidance, see Progress indicators.

Consider creating a custom loading view. Although standard progress indicators are usually fine, they can sometimes feel out of place. Consider designing a more engaging experience by using custom animations and elements that match the style of your app or game.

Storing downloads

Don’t let downloaded assets take space away from people’s content. For large games and apps in particular, avoid storing downloaded assets where they can crowd important content like people’s media and photos. When possible, take advantage of on-demand resources or Background Assets.

Platform considerations

No additional considerations for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, or visionOS.

watchOS

As much as possible, avoid showing a loading indicator in your watchOS experience. People expect quick interactions with their Apple Watch, so aim to display content immediately. In situations where content needs a second or two to load, it’s better to display a loading indicator than a blank screen.

Resources

Launching

Progress indicators

Change log

Date

Changes

June 10, 2024

Added guidelines for showing progress and storing downloads, and enhanced guidance for games.

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