diff --git a/lib/services/ios/spm-service.ts b/lib/services/ios/spm-service.ts
index 2ec1073e2b..485b924647 100644
--- a/lib/services/ios/spm-service.ts
+++ b/lib/services/ios/spm-service.ts
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ export class SPMService implements ISPMService {
 
 		const render = () => {
 			const elapsed = Math.round((Date.now() - startedAt) / 1000);
-			spinner.text = `${activity}… ${color.dim(`(${elapsed}s)`)}`;
+			spinner.text = `${activity}… ${color.dim(`(${this.formatElapsed(elapsed)})`)}`;
 		};
 		// keep the elapsed timer ticking even when xcodebuild is silent (e.g.
 		// while a binary artifact downloads) so the user can see it's alive.
@@ -256,10 +256,10 @@ export class SPMService implements ISPMService {
 			return "Downloading Swift Package binaries (first build only)";
 		}
 		if (/^Fetching\b/i.test(trimmed)) {
-			return `Fetching ${this.shortenPackageRef(trimmed)}`;
+			return this.describePackageActivity("Fetching", trimmed);
 		}
 		if (/^Cloning\b/i.test(trimmed)) {
-			return `Cloning ${this.shortenPackageRef(trimmed)}`;
+			return this.describePackageActivity("Cloning", trimmed);
 		}
 		if (/Computing version for/i.test(trimmed)) {
 			return "Computing package versions";
@@ -273,11 +273,25 @@ export class SPMService implements ISPMService {
 		return null;
 	}
 
-	/** Extracts a short, readable name from a SwiftPM repo URL/log line. */
-	private shortenPackageRef(line: string): string {
+	/**
+	 * Builds a stable, self-explanatory activity label with the package being
+	 * worked on in parentheses, e.g. "Fetching Swift Packages (Auth0.swift)".
+	 */
+	private describePackageActivity(verb: string, line: string): string {
+		const packageRef = this.shortenPackageRef(line);
+		return packageRef
+			? `${verb} Swift Packages (${packageRef})`
+			: `${verb} Swift Packages`;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Extracts a short, readable name from a SwiftPM repo URL/log line, or null
+	 * when the line contains no URL to name the package by.
+	 */
+	private shortenPackageRef(line: string): string | null {
 		const match = line.match(/https?:\/\/\S+/);
 		if (!match) {
-			return "Swift Packages";
+			return null;
 		}
 		return path
 			.basename(match[0])
@@ -285,6 +299,13 @@ export class SPMService implements ISPMService {
 			.replace(/[)\s].*$/, "");
 	}
 
+	/** Formats an elapsed duration in whole seconds as "5m 15s". */
+	private formatElapsed(totalSeconds: number): string {
+		const minutes = Math.floor(totalSeconds / 60);
+		const seconds = totalSeconds % 60;
+		return `${minutes}m ${seconds}s`;
+	}
+
 	/** True when the Xcode project references any Swift packages. */
 	private hasSPMReferences(
 		platformData: IPlatformData,
diff --git a/test/spm-service.ts b/test/spm-service.ts
index 829b23812f..ff1b32bf1d 100644
--- a/test/spm-service.ts
+++ b/test/spm-service.ts
@@ -205,21 +205,28 @@ describe("SPM Service - resolution log parsing", () => {
 			);
 		});
 
-		it("summarizes fetching with the package name", () => {
+		it("summarizes fetching with the package name in parentheses", () => {
 			assert.equal(
 				service.describeSPMActivity(
 					"Fetching from https://github.com/NativeScript/ios-spm.git",
 				),
-				"Fetching ios-spm",
+				"Fetching Swift Packages (ios-spm)",
 			);
 		});
 
-		it("summarizes cloning with the package name", () => {
+		it("summarizes cloning with the package name in parentheses", () => {
 			assert.equal(
 				service.describeSPMActivity(
 					"Cloning https://github.com/Alamofire/Alamofire.git",
 				),
-				"Cloning Alamofire",
+				"Cloning Swift Packages (Alamofire)",
+			);
+		});
+
+		it("omits the parenthesized name when the line has no URL", () => {
+			assert.equal(
+				service.describeSPMActivity("Fetching cached package"),
+				"Fetching Swift Packages",
 			);
 		});
 
@@ -251,7 +258,7 @@ describe("SPM Service - resolution log parsing", () => {
 				service.describeSPMActivity(
 					"   Fetching https://github.com/NativeScript/ios-spm.git  ",
 				),
-				"Fetching ios-spm",
+				"Fetching Swift Packages (ios-spm)",
 			);
 		});
 
@@ -286,11 +293,18 @@ describe("SPM Service - resolution log parsing", () => {
 			);
 		});
 
-		it("falls back to a generic label when there is no URL", () => {
-			assert.equal(
-				service.shortenPackageRef("Fetching cached package"),
-				"Swift Packages",
-			);
+		it("returns null when there is no URL", () => {
+			assert.isNull(service.shortenPackageRef("Fetching cached package"));
+		});
+	});
+
+	describe("formatElapsed", () => {
+		it("always renders minutes and seconds", () => {
+			assert.equal(service.formatElapsed(0), "0m 0s");
+			assert.equal(service.formatElapsed(42), "0m 42s");
+			assert.equal(service.formatElapsed(60), "1m 0s");
+			assert.equal(service.formatElapsed(315), "5m 15s");
+			assert.equal(service.formatElapsed(3725), "62m 5s");
 		});
 	});
 });