Carousel
A carousel is a row of items that people scroll sideways, such as images or cards. Material 3 has a Carousel with multi-browse, uncontained, hero and full-screen layouts, and iOS has no component of that name.
Why it matters
A carousel puts several items in a small space, but it hides the ones off screen. Showing a peek of the next item is what tells people to scroll.
Content in a carousel gets fewer views than content in view, so it should not hold the only route to something important.
Carousel on iOS and Android
Also called Horizontal scroller, Image slider. The same idea in each system, with the values Appetite UI gives it.
| Value | iOS | Android | Appetite UI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | No carousel component: paged or scrolling content with a page control | Carousel: multi-browse, uncontained, hero, full-screen | Card and Pagination, dots |
| Layouts (Material Components) | None named | Multi-browse, uncontained, hero, full-screen | See below |
| Position marker in the file | Page Control dots | None | See below |
In Appetite UI
The kit draws the parts, not a component: Card for the item, and Pagination dots that mark the position in an image carousel. The Card page has a favorite button over the image and dots under it, five at a time.
Example
A travel app scrolls place cards sideways with a peek of the next one at the edge; an image gallery on a listing pages with five dots.
Common mistakes
- No peek of the next item. People will not know to scroll.
- Autoplay. Let people control it.
- Hiding the only route to something important in a carousel.
- Too many items. Past about 10 use a grid.
Questions
What are the Material 3 carousel layouts?
Multi-browse, uncontained, hero (start or center aligned) and full-screen. Multi-browse shows at least one large, one medium and one small item.
Does iOS have a carousel?
Not under that name. Apple offers scrolling and paged content, with a page control to mark the position.
Sources
The pages the facts above rest on, each read October 30, 2026.