Launching

Patterns
View as Markdown
On this page3 sections

Best practices

Launch instantly.

If the platform requires it, provide a launch screen.

If you need a splash screen, consider displaying it at the beginning of your onboarding flow.

Restore the previous state when your app restarts so people can continue where they left off.

Launch screens

Downplay the launch experience.

Design a launch screen that’s nearly identical to the first screen of your app or game.

Avoid including text on your launch screen, even if your first screen displays text.

Don’t advertise.

Platform considerations

iOS, iPadOS

Launch in the appropriate orientation.

tvOS

In a live-viewing app, consider automatically starting playback soon after people start the app.

visionOS

Consider launching in the Shared Space even if your app is fully immersive.


For the complete guidance, including worked examples and illustrations, see the canonical page: https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/launching

Apple HIG text and imagery are © Apple Inc. This page is a structured index of Apple’s canonical documentation (snapshot 2025-02-02), provided for quick reference and AI-agent consumption — it isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by Apple. Read the original at developer.apple.com (opens in new tab).

Get HIG guidance in your AI

Install HIG Doctor and get expert Apple design guidance directly in Claude Code.

npx skills add raintree-technology/hig-doctor
Email updates aren't configured on this deployment yet. Follow the GitHub repo (opens in new tab) for updates.