Citizenship timing question

This might be a silly question, but it's never stopped me from asking before. Does the "countdown" on citizenship approval start once you've completed the online application and paid your fees? Or does it start once you've had your biometrics appointment?

I'm fully aware there's no actual countdown and the times for a decision can vary greatly, but I'm just curious if it's theoretically possibly to be approved/rejected before you even do your biometrics?

Sitting here thinking about it now though, my referee forms aren't even submitted yet (I'm having them scan the stuff at the appointment on Wednesday as I'm lazy and can't be bothered) so I guess I wouldn't be able to get a decision beforehand even if my appointment was months down the road.

Anyway I submitted the application online June 22nd so I guess either way I'm probably looking at a window of late Fall or early Winter if I'm lucky? 🤞

I believe its from the biometrics appointment. At the appointment, your biometrics and your uploaded documents are attached to the online form and sent off in a nice little middle-man bow to the home office. It seems its still an 8-12 week turnaround for the decision, so I'd say you're probably looking at mid-fall, same as me hopefully.