Android Academy · Lesson

Animations & Transitions

Animate views with ViewPropertyAnimator, ObjectAnimator, and AnimatorSet. Add fragment transitions, shared element animations, and spring physics.

Why Animations Matter

Animations make apps feel alive and responsive. They:

Provide visual feedback for user actions
Show how screens relate to each other
Make data changes less jarring
Help users understand what changed and why

The key rule: animations should serve the UI, not distract from it. Keep them under 300ms.

ViewPropertyAnimator — Quick Animations

The simplest way to animate a view. Chain calls and call start():

// Fade a view out:
binding.tvMessage
    .animate()
    .alpha(0f)
    .setDuration(300)
    .withEndAction { binding.tvMessage.visibility = View.GONE }
    .start()

// Slide in from bottom:
binding.cardView.translationY = 200f
binding.cardView.alpha = 0f
binding.cardView
    .animate()
    .translationY(0f)
    .alpha(1f)
    .setDuration(250)
    .setInterpolator(DecelerateInterpolator())
    .start()

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