# That Android glow. Have you ever noticed a little animation when you reach the end of scrolling on an Android device, like this one ↓? That little glow was the de-facto end-of-scroll animation from around 2011 to 2021[^1], and likely appeared on around 12 billion devices during that time. ![[android glow scroll.gif|350]] The crazy thing? I think I might have invented it. Let me explain. ## The Nexus One In January 2010, Google released their Nexus One phone into the market. This was a couple of years after Apple released the iPhone, and competition – and innovation – in phones was fierce. ![[android glow arstechnica nexus.jpg]] Image source: [Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2010/01/nexus-one-review/) Mid-2010, I got the opportunity to provide the Nexus One product team with feedback on the entire Nexus One experience, including the packaging[^2], hardware, and Android operating system. To reduce hundreds of data points to something that could be easily understood and acted upon, I came up with eight core themes: 1. Emphasize fluidity 2. Curate 3. Be delightfully discoverable 4. Make it endearing 5. Build trust 6. Emphasize media, not function 7. Anticipate, don't react 8. Create a home base ## Stutter scrolling Unfortunately, the Nexus One processor was just slightly too slow for what Google wanted the operating system to do. This was most obvious when scrolling: sometimes the screen would briefly freeze while the app mid-scroll: your finger would move, but the content wouldn't. But the most frustrating moment was when you were at the end of a list and tried scrolling further: nothing would happen on the screen. And there was no way to know if it was due to the phone stalling, or running out of items on the list. That was definitely not "emphasizing fluidity". Apple, at the time, had a "rubber band" scrolling effect on the iPhone. When you reached the end of a list, the screen would keep scrolling, to a point – and when you released, it would 'snap' back into place. It was highly effective – and also patent-pending. I recommended that Google add an animated 'glow' that would appear whenever someone tried to scroll past the end of a list. And for over a decade, that little glow made Android just a little bit easier for billions of people, every day. Actually my idea, or already in the works? I'll never be sure. But it sure feels good to imagine. [^1]: Google switched from the "glow" effect (also known as the "overscroll glow" or "edge glow") to a stretch effect ("elastic scrolling") with the release of Android 12 in October 2021. [^2]: Apple's packaging at the time (and today as well) was designed so that, when you held the lid, the rest of the box would slowly descend via gravity: just slow enough to build anticipation, but fast enough to get you to that shiny new product. The Nexus One box lid – designed similarly – was too tight and took forever to slide open. ∎