Embodiments can provide a portable computing device for pre-launching an application upon predicting that the application may be an application desired to be launched by a user. One or more application pre-launch criteria for an icon may be determined to have been satisfied when the icon is within a specified region of a display. Pre-launching the application can include loading the application into working memory while not presenting an interface associated with the application on the display of the portable computing device. When a selection of the icon is received, an interface associated with the application can be presented on the display of the portable computing device using the loaded application.