gfx/gfx_display.c (+46) — Adds #include "../tasks/tasks_internal.h". Adds gfx_display_load_icon(), the single dispatch function. A #if defined(__ANDROID__) sets GFX_DISPLAY_ICON_LOAD_SYNCHRONOUS which routes to gfx_display_reset_icon_texture() (blocking file read + GPU upload in one call, pre-async behavior). All other platforms route to task_push_icon_load() (async task queue).

gfx/gfx_display.h (+20) — Declares gfx_display_load_icon() with doc comment explaining the mechanism, that generation/generation_ptr are async-only, and that callers should use this instead of task_push_icon_load() directly.
gfx/gfx_widgets.c (-4/+5) — Replaces task_push_icon_load() with gfx_display_load_icon() in the widget icon loading loop. Updates comments to be path-neutral ("When loads complete" instead of "When async loads complete").
gfx/widgets/gfx_widget_volume.c (-1/+1) — Replaces task_push_icon_load() with gfx_display_load_icon() for volume indicator icons.
menu/drivers/ozone.c (-6/+6) — Replaces 6 task_push_icon_load() calls with gfx_display_load_icon(): theme textures, horizontal list icons, main textures, sidebar tab textures, entry icons.
menu/drivers/materialui.c (-2/+2) — Replaces 2 task_push_icon_load() calls with gfx_display_load_icon(): playlist icons and main texture list.
menu/drivers/xmb.c (-3/+3) — Replaces 3 task_push_icon_load() calls with gfx_display_load_icon(): horizontal list icons (system + content) and context reset textures.
menu/menu_explore.c (-1/+1) — Replaces task_push_icon_load() with gfx_display_load_icon() for explore view system icons.
menu/menu_contentless_cores.c (-2/+2) — Replaces 2 task_push_icon_load() calls with gfx_display_load_icon(): fallback icon and per-core icons.
tasks/task_file_transfer.c (-9) — Reverts b8c7860: removes the #ifdef __ANDROID__ that forced synchronous NBIO file transfer. Unnecessary since Android no longer enters the async icon path.
tasks/task_image.c (-14) — Reverts b8c7860: removes the two #ifdef __ANDROID__ blocks that forced synchronous image decode loops. Same reason — Android icons load synchronously one layer up, never reaching this code.
Net: 86 insertions, 42 deletions across 11 files. One #if defined(__ANDROID__) in one file controls everything.

gfx/gfx_display.c

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 #include "gfx_display.h"
 
 #include "../configuration.h"
+#include "../tasks/tasks_internal.h"
 #include "../verbosity.h"
 
 #ifdef HAVE_MIST
@@ -1175,6 +1176,51 @@ bool gfx_display_reset_icon_texture(
    return true;
 }
 
+/* -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+ * Platform-adaptive icon/texture loading
+ *
+ * Dispatches to either the synchronous (blocking) or asynchronous
+ * (task-queue) icon loading path depending on the platform.
+ *
+ * Platforms that define GFX_DISPLAY_ICON_LOAD_SYNCHRONOUS get the
+ * pre-async behavior: image_texture_load -> video_driver_texture_load
+ * in one call, no task queue involvement.  This avoids frame-spread
+ * I/O and GL context contention on platforms where the async path is
+ * actually slower (e.g. Android behind SAF / fuse storage).
+ *
+ * To opt a new platform into the synchronous path, add it to the
+ * ifdef below.
+ * ----------------------------------------------------------------------- */
+
+#if defined(__ANDROID__)
+#define GFX_DISPLAY_ICON_LOAD_SYNCHRONOUS
+#endif
+
+bool gfx_display_load_icon(
+      const char *fullpath,
+      bool supports_rgba,
+      uintptr_t *target_texture,
+      uint64_t generation,
+      uint64_t *generation_ptr)
+{
+#ifdef GFX_DISPLAY_ICON_LOAD_SYNCHRONOUS
+   /* Synchronous path - identical to pre-async behavior.
+    * Generation counter is irrelevant: the load completes
+    * before this function returns, so there is no in-flight
+    * callback that could write to a freed pointer. */
+   (void)supports_rgba;
+   (void)generation;
+   (void)generation_ptr;
+   return gfx_display_reset_icon_texture(
+         fullpath, target_texture,
+         TEXTURE_FILTER_MIPMAP_LINEAR, NULL, NULL);
+#else
+   return task_push_icon_load(
+         fullpath, supports_rgba,
+         target_texture, generation, generation_ptr);
+#endif
+}
+
 void gfx_display_deinit_white_texture(void)
 {
    if (gfx_white_texture)

gfx/gfx_display.h

@@ -293,6 +293,26 @@ bool gfx_display_reset_icon_texture(
       uintptr_t *item, enum texture_filter_type filter_type,
       unsigned *width, unsigned *height);
 
+/* Platform-adaptive icon/texture loading.
+ *
+ * On platforms where async task-based image loading is detrimental
+ * to performance (e.g. Android with SAF I/O overhead), falls back
+ * to synchronous loading identical to the pre-async behavior.
+ *
+ * All menu drivers and gfx_widgets should call this instead of
+ * task_push_icon_load() directly so that adding a new platform
+ * to the synchronous path requires changing only one place.
+ *
+ * |generation| / |generation_ptr| are only used on the async path
+ * to guard against stale callbacks; on the synchronous path they
+ * are ignored (the load completes before the function returns). */
+bool gfx_display_load_icon(
+      const char *fullpath,
+      bool supports_rgba,
+      uintptr_t *target_texture,
+      uint64_t generation,
+      uint64_t *generation_ptr);
+
 bool gfx_display_reset_textures_list_buffer(
         uintptr_t *item,
         enum texture_filter_type filter_type,

gfx/gfx_widgets.c

@@ -2006,11 +2006,12 @@ static void gfx_widgets_context_reset(
    widget_icon_load_gen++;
 
    /* Start with no-icons layout — text positions are correct for
-    * text-only rendering.  When async loads complete, the callback
-    * sets MSG_QUEUE_HAS_ICONS and recomputes icon-dependent layout. */
+    * text-only rendering.  When loads complete (immediately on sync
+    * platforms, via callback on async), the frame-loop detects
+    * non-zero textures and recomputes icon-dependent layout. */
    p_dispwidget->flags &= ~DISPGFX_WIDGET_FLAG_MSG_QUEUE_HAS_ICONS;
 
-   /* Queue async icon loads */
+   /* Load icons */
    for (i = 0; i < MENU_WIDGETS_ICON_LAST; i++)
    {
       char texpath[PATH_MAX_LENGTH];
@@ -2018,7 +2019,7 @@ static void gfx_widgets_context_reset(
             p_dispwidget->monochrome_png_path,
             gfx_widgets_icons_names[i],
             sizeof(texpath));
-      task_push_icon_load(texpath, supports_rgba,
+      gfx_display_load_icon(texpath, supports_rgba,
             &p_dispwidget->gfx_widgets_icons_textures[i],
             widget_icon_load_gen, &widget_icon_load_gen);
    }

gfx/widgets/gfx_widget_volume.c

@@ -365,7 +365,7 @@ static void gfx_widget_volume_context_reset(bool is_threaded,
       char texpath[PATH_MAX_LENGTH];
       fill_pathname_join_special(texpath,
             menu_png_path, ICONS_NAMES[i], sizeof(texpath));
-      task_push_icon_load(texpath, supports_rgba,
+      gfx_display_load_icon(texpath, supports_rgba,
             &state->textures[i], volume_icon_load_gen,
             &volume_icon_load_gen);
    }

menu/drivers/materialui.c

@@ -2293,7 +2293,7 @@ static void materialui_context_reset_playlist_icons(
       fill_pathname_join_special(texpath,
             mui->sysicons_path, image_file,
             sizeof(texpath));
-      task_push_icon_load(texpath, supports_rgba,
+      gfx_display_load_icon(texpath, supports_rgba,
             &mui->textures.playlist.icons[i].image,
             mui_icon_load_gen, &mui_icon_load_gen);
    }
@@ -2569,7 +2569,7 @@ static void materialui_context_reset_textures(materialui_handle_t *mui)
       fill_pathname_join_special(texpath,
             mui->icons_path, materialui_texture_path(i),
             sizeof(texpath));
-      task_push_icon_load(texpath, supports_rgba,
+      gfx_display_load_icon(texpath, supports_rgba,
             &mui->textures.list[i], mui_icon_load_gen,
             &mui_icon_load_gen);
    }

menu/drivers/ozone.c

@@ -2951,7 +2951,7 @@ static void ozone_reset_theme_textures(ozone_handle_t *ozone)
          fill_pathname_join_special(texpath,
                theme_path, OZONE_THEME_TEXTURES_FILES[i],
                sizeof(texpath));
-         task_push_icon_load(texpath, supports_rgba,
+         gfx_display_load_icon(texpath, supports_rgba,
                &theme->textures[i], ozone_ctx_icon_load_gen,
                &ozone_ctx_icon_load_gen);
       }
@@ -5136,7 +5136,7 @@ static void ozone_context_reset_horizontal_list(ozone_handle_t *ozone)
                   texturepath, ozone->icons_path, "default.png",
                   sizeof(texturepath));
 
-         task_push_icon_load(texturepath, supports_rgba,
+         gfx_display_load_icon(texturepath, supports_rgba,
                &node->icon, ozone_icon_load_gen,
                &ozone_icon_load_gen);
 
@@ -5149,7 +5149,7 @@ static void ozone_context_reset_horizontal_list(ozone_handle_t *ozone)
             fill_pathname_join_delim(texturepath, ozone->icons_path_default,
                   "content.png", '-', sizeof(texturepath));
 
-         task_push_icon_load(texturepath, supports_rgba,
+         gfx_display_load_icon(texturepath, supports_rgba,
                &node->content_icon, ozone_icon_load_gen,
                &ozone_icon_load_gen);
 
@@ -9831,7 +9831,7 @@ static void ozone_context_reset(void *data, bool is_threaded)
          fill_pathname_join_special(texpath,
                ozone->png_path, OZONE_TEXTURES_FILES[i],
                sizeof(texpath));
-         task_push_icon_load(texpath, supports_rgba,
+         gfx_display_load_icon(texpath, supports_rgba,
                &ozone->textures[i], ozone_ctx_icon_load_gen,
                &ozone_ctx_icon_load_gen);
       }
@@ -9855,7 +9855,7 @@ static void ozone_context_reset(void *data, bool is_threaded)
                      sizeof(texpath));
                break;
          }
-         task_push_icon_load(texpath, supports_rgba,
+         gfx_display_load_icon(texpath, supports_rgba,
                &ozone->tab_textures[i], ozone_ctx_icon_load_gen,
                &ozone_ctx_icon_load_gen);
       }
@@ -9870,7 +9870,7 @@ static void ozone_context_reset(void *data, bool is_threaded)
          fill_pathname_join_special(texpath,
                ozone->icons_path, ozone_entries_icon_texture_path(i),
                sizeof(texpath));
-         task_push_icon_load(texpath, supports_rgba,
+         gfx_display_load_icon(texpath, supports_rgba,
                &ozone->icons_textures[i], ozone_ctx_icon_load_gen,
                &ozone_ctx_icon_load_gen);
       }

menu/drivers/xmb.c

@@ -2988,7 +2988,7 @@ static void xmb_context_reset_horizontal_list(xmb_handle_t *xmb)
             strlcpy(texturepath + __len, ".png", sizeof(texturepath) - __len);
          }
 
-         task_push_icon_load(texturepath, supports_rgba,
+         gfx_display_load_icon(texturepath, supports_rgba,
                &node->icon, xmb_icon_load_gen,
                &xmb_icon_load_gen);
 
@@ -3000,7 +3000,7 @@ static void xmb_context_reset_horizontal_list(xmb_handle_t *xmb)
             fill_pathname_join_delim(texturepath, icons_path_default,
                   FILE_PATH_CONTENT_BASENAME, '-', sizeof(texturepath));
 
-         task_push_icon_load(texturepath, supports_rgba,
+         gfx_display_load_icon(texturepath, supports_rgba,
                &node->content_icon, xmb_icon_load_gen,
                &xmb_icon_load_gen);
 
@@ -6674,7 +6674,7 @@ static void xmb_context_reset_textures(
 
       fill_pathname_join_special(texpath,
             iconpath, texture_path, sizeof(texpath));
-      task_push_icon_load(texpath, supports_rgba,
+      gfx_display_load_icon(texpath, supports_rgba,
             &xmb->textures.list[i], xmb_ctx_icon_load_gen,
             &xmb_ctx_icon_load_gen);
    }

menu/menu_contentless_cores.c

@@ -294,7 +294,7 @@ static void contentless_cores_load_icons(contentless_cores_state_t *state)
          CONTENTLESS_CORE_ICON_DEFAULT, sizeof(icon_path));
 
    if (path_is_valid(icon_path))
-      task_push_icon_load(icon_path, rgba_supported,
+      gfx_display_load_icon(icon_path, rgba_supported,
             &state->icons->fallback, contentless_icon_load_gen,
             &contentless_icon_load_gen);
 
@@ -338,7 +338,7 @@ static void contentless_cores_load_icons(contentless_cores_state_t *state)
             RHMAP_SET_STR(state->icons->system,
                   core_info->core_file_id.str, icon);
 
-            task_push_icon_load(icon_path, rgba_supported,
+            gfx_display_load_icon(icon_path, rgba_supported,
                   icon, contentless_icon_load_gen,
                   &contentless_icon_load_gen);
          }

menu/menu_explore.c

@@ -440,7 +440,7 @@ static void explore_load_icons(explore_state_t *state)
       if (!path_is_valid(path))
          continue;
 
-      task_push_icon_load(path, supports_rgba,
+      gfx_display_load_icon(path, supports_rgba,
             &state->icons[i], explore_icon_load_gen,
             &explore_icon_load_gen);
    }

tasks/task_file_transfer.c

@@ -53,14 +53,6 @@ static int task_file_transfer_iterate_transfer(nbio_handle_t *nbio)
    iters = nbio->pos_increment ? nbio->pos_increment
                                : NBIO_DEFAULT_POS_INCREMENT;
 
-#ifdef __ANDROID__
-   /* Android: complete the entire file read in one pass to avoid
-    * spreading I/O across frames, which causes menu freezes and
-    * icon glitches when combined with async image decoding. */
-   (void)iters;
-   while (!nbio_iterate(nbio->handle));
-   return -1;
-#else
    for (i = 0; i < iters; i++)
    {
       if (nbio_iterate(nbio->handle))
@@ -68,7 +60,6 @@ static int task_file_transfer_iterate_transfer(nbio_handle_t *nbio)
    }
 
    return 0;
-#endif
 }
 
 static int task_file_transfer_iterate_parse(nbio_handle_t *nbio)

tasks/task_image.c

@@ -151,16 +151,8 @@ static int task_image_iterate_process_transfer(struct nbio_image_handle *image)
       if ((retval = task_image_process(image, &width, &height)) 
           != IMAGE_PROCESS_NEXT)
          break;
-#ifndef __ANDROID__
-      /* On non-Android platforms, budget image processing across
-       * multiple frames to avoid blocking the UI thread.
-       * On Android this causes freezes and icon glitches with all
-       * menu drivers, so we complete the entire decode in one pass. */
    }while (cpu_features_get_time_usec() - start_time
          < image->frame_duration);
-#else
-   }while (1);
-#endif
 
    if (retval == IMAGE_PROCESS_NEXT)
       return 0;
@@ -358,14 +350,8 @@ bool task_image_load_handler(retro_task_t *task)
                      image->status = IMAGE_STATUS_TRANSFER_PARSE;
                      break;
                   }
-#ifndef __ANDROID__
                }while (cpu_features_get_time_usec() - start_time
                      < image->frame_duration);
-#else
-               /* Android: complete transfer in one pass to avoid
-                * context contention causing freezes/glitches */
-               }while (1);
-#endif
             }
             break;
          case IMAGE_STATUS_PROCESS_TRANSFER_PARSE: