When an application loads for the first time, the user is presented with a variable duration of loading time. This period can change depending on the device processor or RAM, memory requirements of the application, current free memory available on the device, and any number of other variables.
Ideally, the user will only be required to sit through this period for a brief moment. However, this duration can last up to several seconds in length if we're loading an image intensive app on an older device.
Apple has designed a loading screen method that is required by each app, through the inclusion of a PNG file in our app bundle. In this recipe, we'll discuss two interface strategies for this loading period.
For this recipe, we should have a computer with Photoshop or another image creation tool. We should also have knowledge of the devices and orientation types that our application will support.