19 Best Android Animation UI/UX Libraries

CRO
Feb 14, 2019

Mobile applications are getting less static. Interface animations are becoming an integral part of modern apps, making them more user-friendly and navigation through them simpler.

Android projects could use animations for several purposes, specifically to:

  • display application status, since the user would be pleased to receive a response to actions he/she triggers. Besides, an appropriate animation would brighten up the user’s expectation when the page content is updated;
  • connect various phases of a multiphase process, thereby allowing for a smooth transition between the steps and seamless interaction with the user;
  • embed new elements, fitting them harmoniously into the content;
  • simplify the interaction process, informing the user what he/she is going through at the moment.

Animations serve to reinforce the user’s action. Nevertheless, rather fanciful or complex effects distract and confuse him/her. As a result, developers should always maintain the golden medium.

Thus, the more you know about animation UI/UX libraries for the Android platform, the easier it is for you to apply them in a smart way. So, shall we start?

1. AndroidViewAnimations

We will begin with AndroidViewAnimations. It is a simple Android library that enables you to create view shake animations. Its developer was inspired by an iOS library, since Android had no analogue at that time. The library allows you to implement a wide variety of animations, including:

  • bounce;
  • fade;
  • flip;
  • rotate;
  • slide;
  • zoom.

Moreover, each item has its own subsections with different effects.

2. ListViewAnimations

ListViewAnimations is another open source library that enables developers to create ListViews with animations. It has the following features:

  • appearance animations for items in ListViews, GridViews, other AbsListViews;some text
    • built-in animations include Alpha, SwingRightIn, SwingLeftIn, SwingBottomIn, SwingRightIn and ScaleIn;
    • other animations can easily be added;
    • supports StickyListHeaders; besides, you can add other implementations without any difficulties;
  • Swipe-to-Dismiss, Swipe-To-Dismiss with contextual undo;
  • Drag-and-Drop reordering;
  • an animated process of adding items;
  • you are able to smoothly expand your items to reveal more content.

3. AndroidImageSlider

AndroidImageSlider is an excellent example of an attractive, easy-to-use open source slideshow library. We believe it’s one of the most convenient image sliders on the Android platform.

With its help, you can easily upload your own images from an internet URL, drawable, or file and animate the slideshow with a range of different effects.

4. Transition Everywhere

Transition Everywhere is a backport of Transitions API for Android 4.0 and above. It allows you to change duration, interpolator and start delay for animators inside Transition. It has several transition types:

  • Slide;
  • Explode and Propagation;
  • ChangeImageTransfor;
  • Path motion;
  • TransitionName;
  • Scale;
  • Rotate.

The library can come in handy when you are going to animate changes to view position and size, extend Visibility class and perform fade in and fade out animations, or put the animations in sequential order.

5. Android Ripple Background

Android Ripple Background enables creating various ripple animation for your Android app. You can change their color, speed of the wave, and the number of ripples. It will be useful if you are going to animate a button click response or an incoming phone call, etc.

6. Aphid FlipView

Aphid FlipView is a UI component to accomplish the flipping animation similar to Flipboard. It supports:

  • flipping horizontally;
  • an event listener to get notified when flipping finishes;
  • content reloading when flipping;
  • different bitmap format for animation, which can be used to reduce peak memory consumption.

7. FragmentTransactionExtended

FragmentTransactionExtended is a library equipped with a set of custom animations between fragments. Compared to FragmentTransaction, which accepts only simple animations, it got its list extended with more complex effects of the following animations:

  • scale;
  • fade;
  • slide;
  • glide;
  • stack;
  • rotate;
  • zoom.

8. KenBurnsView

KenBurnsView is a library that provides an extension to ImageView, which, in turn, creates an immersive experience by animating its drawable with the help of the Ken Burns Effect.

Advantages of the library are:

  • you can change the duration and the interpolator of transitions and pause/resume them.
  • you can define how the rectangles to be zoomed and panned will be generated;
  • it seamlessly works out of the box with your favorite image loader library;
  • you can start using it right away.

9. Reachability

Reachability is a library that enables easy accessing the top of the mobile phone screen. Animations implemented in iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus inspired its developer. Here you can move either the screen or the hover.

10. AnimationEasingFunctions

AnimationEasingFunctions library was created based on AndroidViewAnimation with the help of  Easing Functions. It is also aimed at facilitating the process of animation and making animations more real. You can implement it as a grade or just like a glider.

11. EasyAndroidAnimarions

EasyAndroidAnimations is another Android library that makes animation easier. It has above 50 built-in animations that will help you to implement many effects in your app with only several lines of code. You can include the library directly in your Gradle project.

12. InterfaceInteraction

InterfaceInteraction development was bolstered by the PhysicsLayout project. The library captures any interface (screen or view) and throws its UI elements over under the influence of gravity. As a result, one can move them from sideways obliquely. The gravity effect relies on the device’s accelerometer data. The stop method returns all UI elements back in place.

Another feature is a shake animation for UI elements.

The effects can easily be used to decorate any application.

13. ViewRevealAnimator

ViewRevealAnimator view with a lollipop style reveals effect. It enables you to create a smooth animated transition between items.

14. ArcAnimator

ArcAnimator is a  library that helps create arc transition animation for Android 2.3. and above.

15. SearchMenuAnim

SearchMenuAnim allows creating a clear and effortless transition from a search icon to a search field.

16. Cross View

Cross View animates across in your app. The library enables you to define color and set a state directly. You can also set an animation duration in milliseconds.

17. WoWoViewPager

WoWoViewPager combines ViewPager and Animations to provide a simple way to create guide pages of the app. It supports some simple animations, namely:

  • translation;
  • scale;
  • alpha;
  • background color animations;
  • gif-playing;
  • SVG-drawing;
  • path-drawing.

18. Lottie

Lottie is a mobile library for Android and iOS that parses Adobe After Effects animations exported as JSON with Bodymovin and renders them natively on mobile.

By its means, designers can create and ship beautiful animations without an engineer painstakingly recreating it by hand.

Lottie’s major advantage is the support of a great variety of After Effects features.

19. FerrisWheelView

FerrisWheelView is a library that allows implementing an animated Ferris Wheel.

Attribute
Value
Format
PNG
Color space
Display P3 (wide-gamut color), sRGB (color), or Gray Gamma 2.2 (grayscale).
See Color Management.
Layers
Flattened with no transparency
Resolution
Shape
Square with no rounded corners
Attribute
Value
Format
PNG
Color space
Display P3 (wide-gamut color), sRGB (color), or Gray Gamma 2.2 (grayscale).
See Color Management.
Layers
Flattened with no transparency
Resolution
Shape
Square with no rounded corners
Word
Frequency in service
Qimai(China)*
AppTweak
Mobileaction
Appfollow
课程 (course)
5387 (high)
56 (mid)
5 (low)
34 (mid)
外语 (foreign language)
5699 (high)
35 (mid)
5 (low)
34(mid)
播放 (play)
5496 (high)
35 (mid)
5 (low)
35 (mid)
*Search index in China provided by Qimai and based on multidimensional calculations such as search results, downloads and relatable keywords.
App Store
Google Play
1. Icon impact on user choice
Important, but not more than a video with screenshots, as they take up most of the screen
Icon is displayed with several other icons in search results, and therefore it has the greatest impact on the user's choice
2. Icon localization
1 icon for all locales
Can be localized for each country
3. Screenshots quantity, orientation
From 1 to 10, any orientation
From 2 to 8, any orientation
4. Screenshots the most important are the ones that are visible before you start scrolling
  • Vertical screenshots: 3 are visible
  • Horizontal screenshots: only the first one is visible
  • Vertical screenshots: 4 are visible
  • Horizontal screenshots: only the first one is visible
5. Screenshots size
Large — the content is legible
Much smaller — the captions are quite illegible
6. Video quantity
Up to 3
One video that must be uploaded to YouTube
7. Video orientation
Any orientation
Horizontal orientation prioritized
8. Video autoplay
Plays automatically for 30 seconds without sound
You need to click on it to play
9. Application cover
Displayed on the application and developer pages
There is no cover
10. Graphics update
After release only
Whenever
Device or context
Icon size
iPhone
60x60 pt (180x180 px @3x)
60x60 pt (120x120 px @2x)
iPad Pro
83.5x83.5 pt (167x167 px @2x)
iPad, iPad mini
76x76 pt (152x152 px @2x)
App Store
1024x1024 pt (1024x1024 px @1x)
Source language
Target language
How much longer (+) or shorter (–) the text in the target language is
English
French
21.18%
English
Spanish
19.52%
English
Italian
17.91%
English
Deutsch
16.67%
English
Dutch
13.80%
English
Portuguese (Portugal)
14.29%
English
Portuguese (Brazil)
12.96%
English
Polish
9.33%
English
Russian
9.11%
English
Czech
3.70%
English
Arab
–6.25%
English
Japanese
–39.68%
English
Korean
–44.04%
English
Chinese (Simplified)
–61.97%
English
Chinese (Traditional)
–63.80%
*Search Ads Popularity (SAP)shows the popularity of the search term from 5 to 99.
Device
Spotlight icon size
Settings icon size
Notification icon size
iPhone
40x40 pt (120x120 px @3x)
29x29 pt (87x87 px @3x)
38x38 pt (114x114 px @3x)
40x40 pt (80x80 px @2x)
29x29 pt (58x58 px @2x)
38x38 pt (76x76 px @2x)
iPad Pro, iPad, iPad mini
40x40 pt (80x80 px @2x)
29x29 pt (58x58 px @2x)
38x38 pt (76x76 px @2x)
Search term
Translation
SAP* English (U.S.)
SAP* English (U.K.)
truck games
games with trucks
62
39
lorry games
games with trucks
32
jail games
prison games
29
8
prison games
prison games
32
24
*Search Ads Popularity (SAP)shows the popularity of the search term from 5 to 99.
App Store
Google Play
What can be tested?
  • Short description
  • Long description
  • Icon
  • Feature graphics
  • Screenshots
  • Videos
  • Screenshots
  • Videos
  • Icon (has to be uploaded to the build*)
Number of simultaneously running tests
5 tests (each test is valid within a single country.

You can choose a default country test (details below): then it will run in all countries where there are no localized graphical or textual materials.
1 test (the test can be immediately extended to all countries where the application is available or opt for specific countries as needed)
The number of test variants that can be tested with the current version in the store
Compared with a maximum of 3 new variants
Can a test be launched while another item is under review?
Yes
No
Mandatory formats for screenshots uploaded to the store
6.5
  • 6.5
  • 5.5
  • 12.9 (if there is an iPad version)
*Build – is a new version of the application. Updating the icon is only possible when updating the application version in the store. In other words, the term "build" refers to a specific version or variant of the application that is ready to be downloaded and installed on the users' devices. It contains all the necessary files and data for users to install and use the application.
More about optimizing graphic elements in the App Store and Google Play can be found in the article 'Graphics in Mobile App Promotion in the App Store and Google Play (ASO) – How to Optimize Graphic Elements.'
Device size or platform
Screenshot size
Requirement
Screenshot source
6.5 inch (iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 11, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR)
1284 x 2778 pixels (portrait)2778 x 1284 pixels (landscape)1242 x 2688 pixels (portrait)2688 x 1242 pixels (landscape)
Required if app runs on iPhone
Upload 6.5-inch screenshots
5.8 inch (iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone XS, iPhone X)
1170 x 2532 pixels (portrait)2532 x 1170 pixels (landscape)1125 x 2436 pixels (portrait)2436 x 1125 pixels (landscape)1080 x 2340 (portrait)2340 x 1080 (landscape)
Required if app runs on iPhone and 6.5 inch screenshots are not provided
Default: scaled 6.5-inch screenshotsAlternative: upload 5.8-inch screenshots
5.5 inch (iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s Plus)
1242 x 2208 pixels (portrait)2208 x 1242 pixels (landscape)
Required if app runs on iPhone
Upload 5.5-inch screenshots
5.5 inch (iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s Plus)
2048 x 2732 pixels (portrait)2732 x 2048 pixels (landscape)
Required if app runs on iPad
Upload 12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd generation) screenshots
5.5 inch (iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s Plus)
2048 x 2732 pixels (portrait)2732 x 2048 pixels (landscape)
Required if app runs on iPad
Upload 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2nd generation) screenshots
Price
Traffic Source (Self Reporting Networks)
Facebook
Google
X (Twitter)
Apple Search Ads
Cohort reports
Impression tracking
Audience segmentation
At extra charge
Custom Dashboards
Custom Reports
At extra charge
Advertisement Cost
DAU/MAU (Stickiness)
Raw Data Export
At extra charge
At extra charge
At extra charge
API Reporting
Search term
Translation
SAP* French
SAP* French (Canada)
soldes
sale
25
5
aubainerie
sale
14
*Search Ads Popularity (SAP)shows the popularity of the search term from 5 to 99.
Device
Icon size
iPhone
180px × 180px (60pt × 60pt @3x)
120px × 120px (60pt × 60pt @2x)
iPad Pro
167px × 167px (83.5pt × 83.5pt @2x)
iPad, iPad mini
152px × 152px (76pt × 76pt @2x)
App Store
1024px × 1024px (1024pt × 1024pt @1x)
Icon format
PNG
Color models
sRGB or P3 (see "Color Management")
Layouts
Aligned without transparency
Sizes
Shape
Square without rounded corners
All the current requirements for icons are specified in the specification.
Icon format
32-bit PNG (with alpha channel)
Color models
512 х 512 pixels
Layouts
1024 КБ
Sizes
square, without rounding and shadows (Google automatically rounds the corners and adds shadows)
All the current requirements are specified in the specification.

Depending on the situation, it is easier to create some animations with the help of the existing libraries, but whereas your idea has a lot of specific details, you will need a custom solution.

Those above will definitely favor the development process of your app, reducing financial and time inputs.

Nevertheless, you should always bear in mind that:

  • animations should be functional, improving the user experience;
  • only appropriate elements should be animated. Animating every detail makes no sense. Besides, implementing resource-intensive elements would decrease your app performance and affect interaction with the user;
  • Render animations if you have such an opportunity, it will play into your hands as well.
Home
Up