Android App Icon Guidelines: Adaptive Icons vs. Legacy Icons

Android Adaptive App Icons are no longer just a design upgrade—they are a growth requirement. With intense competition in today’s app stores, your app icon acts as your first marketing touchpoint.

Introduction:

With so much competition in today’s app store, your app icon is more than just some branding; it’s also your first marketing point of contact. When users look at their home screens, app store, or search results, the first thing they see is your icon. Statista claims that global downloads of mobile applications will hit 258 billion in 2024! With the sheer amount of apps out there, having an appealing app icon is the difference between people hitting install or swiping right. Outdated app icons cause brand erosion; legacy icons are broken (or look broken) across Android devices.

Adapting your app icons to the new Android icon guidelines is an opportunity to use new technology that can boost your app’s visibility, recognition, and click through rate (CTR). If legacy icons are in use, the potential for growth and profit is left untapped.

Why Your App Icon Matters More than You Think

According to Google, a good app icon can increase downloads by as much as 30 percent. Your app’s icon generates first impressions and recall of a brand. Because users examine a large number of app choices, a thoughtful icon can assist your app in standing out during searches, on the launch screen, and in app stores.

Moreover, users of Android value the visual symbols of a brand’s technical expertise and attention to detail. When users see high-quality app icons, they assume a lot of skill and precision went into developing an Android app, and they become more confident—even before app’s opened.

Legacy vs. Adaptive Icons: What Every Developer Must Know

Legacy Icons- The Old Guard

Legacy icons include pixelated, static, PNG images that lack device shape adaptability. Instead, they give developers the headaches of preparing multiple PNG files working at different screen densities. When the launch screen’s shape changes, your icons become more pixelated, more outdated, and more poorly cropped. McKinsey’s survey found that inconsistency in visual branding can contribute 15 percent or more to user attrition.

The Adaptive Icons- The Modern Standard

Adaptive icons became the standard in Android 8.0 (Oreo). Adaptive icons, as the name implies, use layers such that Android’s launcher can create a single icon from multiple image files and different parameters.Users can mix and match and customize scaling and spacing for badges and even animations. As reported by Engadget, adaptive icons can provide a seamless, modern look and feel, staying true to the principles of Material Design, which has dominated the look and feel of the Android ecosystem since 2014.

Why Adaptive Icons?

• Consistent Deployment Across Devices: Gone are the days of incorrectly scaled or poorly cropped icons.
• Less Technical Debt: Adaptive Icons are the new standard for the Android OS, and updates that don’t include adaptive icons create regression issues.
• Visual Identity: Increased trust, recognition, and CTR are a result of a more cohesive, visually identity.

Why Adaptive Icons Will Improve Branding and User Engagement

1. Consistent Branding Across Devices

Adaptive icons will look the same regardless of the app. They will conform to the device shape mask provided by the OS and increases branding uniformity across adaptive OS versions. Google states that visually appealing and consistent branding contributes to a higher signal to noise ratio in app stores and thus increases discoverability (Google Material Guidelines 2023).

2. Consistent Visibility Across Platforms

Adaptive icons are uniform and modern and improve discoverability across stores, app lists, and promotional placements.

An appealing icon can increase click-through rates in Google Play by as much as 25%. This can translate to thousands of new installs each month. This is especially important in regions like India and Southeast Asia, where customers tend to make purchasing decisions based on visual elements of a brand.

3. Real-Time Branding Using Dynamic Overlays and Badges

Adaptive icons can also add overlay badges, like notification, and status icons, without needing to change the base icon. This type of dynamic branding communicates urgency and relevance. Before a user even opens your app, they will see notifications, sales, and updates on the app icon, driving immediate action.

How to Avoid Common Problems with Legacy Icons

• Inconsistency across devices: Icons that are distorted or cropped make the brand look unprofessional.
• Limited scalability: Icons that don’t look good on high-resolution screens look unappealing and lose clarity.
• Dynamic badges or overlay badges are not supported: An opportunity is missed to promote real-time engagement with the app.
• Ignoring future OS updates: Apps are getting put behind default masks and losing visibility as outdated legacy icons are getting used.

Pro tip: Many developers forget to check their legacy icons on the newest flagship devices. An emulator is a quick way to check your icon conforms and scales—if it doesn’t look right, you’re due for a change. Using Twinr helps with this, as it automates the management of icon assets.## Steps to Add Adaptive Icons to Your App on Android

Step 1: Create Layered Assets

• Foreground layer: Make sure it is simple, scalable, and SVGs are suggested. Centered and not too complicated is best.
• Background layer: A minimal background to not distract from the branding is best. Keep it subtle and less distracting.
• Overlay options: Decide if you want animated overlays or badges, these can be added later with minimal effort.

Step 2: Organize Your Drawable Files

To the app’s res/drawable directory, add these assets:

res/mipmap-anydpi-v26/ic_launcher.xml

res/mipmap-xxxhdpi/ic_launcher_foreground.png

res/mipmap-xxxhdpi/ic_launcher_background.png

In an XML resource, define your adaptive icon (ic_launcher.xml):

<adaptive-icon xmlns:android=”http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android”>

<background android:drawable=”@mipmap/ic_launcher_background”/>

<foreground android:drawable=”@mipmap/ic_launcher_foreground”/>

</adaptive-icon>

Step 3: Update AndroidManifest.xml

In your AndroidManifest.xml, insert this to set your icon:

<application android:icon=”@mipmap/ic_launcher” … />

Make sure your build process adds these assets to be packaged, for them to be sent to devices with an API of 26 or higher.

Step 4: Perform thorough testing

Try out different versions of the Android OS and different Android devices and emulators to see how your app functions. Use the Android Studio Icon Asset Studio to verify that your logo is visible and accurately centered.

Step 5: Use Automation and No-Code Tools

Twinr and similar platforms let you manage icons and other assets without custom design creation. Simply upload your assets and Twinr will create icons that are adaptive to different screens and OS versions. This approach saves time and eliminates mistakes. Focus on keeping your interface user-friendly and let the automation work on keeping your brand assets intact.

Real-World Success Stories: Adaptive Icons in Action

Take, for example, one of the top fitness apps. After they streamlined their app’s design to include a new adaptive icon, they saved weeks of work that would have gone into the manual managing of assets, and as a result, they experienced a 17% increase in installs each week. The professional look that the new design created across all used devices was a contributing factor to both higher app retention and to the fitness app receiving more favorable customer reviews.

Don’t get left behind – Upgrade your app icon today!

Your app’s icon represents the first chance users have to interact with your app. Make the most of it. The new standards for adaptive Android icon development have gone beyond being just best practices to becoming the new normal for modern branding disciplines, and they are here to stay. With a platform like Twinr, changing your focus on developing features, interacting with users, and growing your business is facilitated through swift, simple, and automated processes that remove manual work.

FAQs:

What exactly is an Android adaptive icon, and how is it different from a legacy icon?

Each adaptive icon is a layered and configurable image that can scale and mask uniformly, can support overlays and animations, and can customize to different device shapes. The static legacy icons, on the other hand, will lead to branding issues, more inconsistent appearances, and other adaptive icons may not explain an icon’s legacy.

How do adaptive icons affect an app’s branding and its overall success?

Since adaptive icons will result in a polished look to the app, it will more surely earn a higher trust and CTR. These Google findings will give the icon more exposure that in turn will boost the app installs and engage more users.

How do I make adaptive icons without hiring a designer?

Services like Twinr let you simply upload your layered vector or even just a basic image, and it will create an adaptive icon that meets Android compliance without the use of other design software and without the need of other assets for different devices.

Do I need to use adaptive icons in order to launch on Google Play?

Yes. Since Android Oreo, Google Play has recommended adaptive icons, and not upgrading might restrict your visibility, or even worse, your icon could get incorrectly masked in the launcher.

What is the ideal frequency for updating icons?

Updates should ideally coincide with significant branding and UI changes, or preceding seasonal campaigns. Consistent testing and iterations keep your icons impactful and relevant to the features, and the marketing activities of your app.