How to Reduce Android App Size to 1 MB or Less
Android apps are becoming more complex and feature-rich every day, but this also means that they are taking up more space on users' devices. Users often avoid downloading apps that seem too large, especially in emerging markets where network connectivity is poor or data plans are expensive. Therefore, it is important for Android developers to optimize their apps' size and performance without compromising quality or functionality.
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In this article, we will explain what an APK file is and why it is important for Android apps. We will also discuss the benefits of reducing app size and how to measure it. Then, we will provide some common challenges and solutions for app size reduction, such as using Android App Bundle, reducing resource count and size, using ProGuard, compressing resources and images, minimizing resource overhead, splitting the app into multiple APKs, and using Lint. Finally, we will conclude with some examples of apps that have successfully reduced their size using these techniques.
What is an APK file and why is it important for Android apps?
An APK file stands for Android Package Kit; also known as an Android Application Package or just as Android Package. It is a package file format used by the Android operating system for the distribution and installation of mobile apps, mobile games and middleware. A file using this format can be built from source code written in either Java or Kotlin.
An APK file contains all of a program's code (such as .dex files), resources, assets, certificates, and manifest file. It also contains a META-INF folder that contains the signature files and a manifest file. An APK file can be opened on a number of operating systems, but they are used mainly on Android devices.
The size of an APK file affects how quickly it can be downloaded and installed on users' devices. It also affects how much storage space it occupies on the device. A large APK file can deter users from downloading or updating your app, or cause them to uninstall it due to lack of available device storage. Therefore, it is crucial to optimize your app's size as much as possible.
What are the benefits of reducing app size and how to measure it?
Reducing your app's size can have many benefits for both you and your users. Some of them are:
It can improve your app's download speed and install success rate.
It can increase your app's retention rate and user engagement.
It can reduce your app's battery consumption and memory usage.
It can enhance your app's security and stability.
It can improve your app's ranking and visibility on Google Play.
To measure your app's size, you can use various tools and metrics provided by Google Play Console. Some of them are:
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The App Size report shows you how your app size varies across different device configurations and markets, and how it compares to similar apps in your category.
The Android Vitals dashboard shows you how your app's size affects its performance and stability on different devices and Android versions.
The Pre-launch report shows you how your app's size affects its compatibility and quality on various test devices before you release it to production.
The APK Analyzer tool shows you the detailed breakdown of your app's size by file, resource, and code.
Use Android App Bundle to deliver optimized APKs for each device
One of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce your app's size is to use the Android App Bundle format instead of the traditional APK format. An Android App Bundle is a new publishing format that allows you to upload a single artifact to Google Play that contains all of your app's compiled code and resources. Google Play then generates and serves optimized APKs for each user's device configuration, such as screen size, density, CPU architecture, language, and so on. This way, users only download the code and resources they need to run your app, and nothing more.
Using Android App Bundle can reduce your app's download size by an average of 20%, and up to 50% for some apps. It can also simplify your development and release process, as you don't need to manage multiple APKs for different device configurations. You can also take advantage of advanced features such as dynamic feature modules, which allow you to deliver features on demand or conditionally, and dynamic asset delivery, which allow you to deliver large assets such as game levels or media files more efficiently.
To use Android App Bundle, you need to use Android Studio 3.2 or higher, and update your app's build.gradle file to use the bundle plugin. You also need to sign your app with an upload key, which Google Play uses to sign the generated APKs on your behalf. You can then build and upload your app bundle to Google Play Console, and test how it works on different devices using the internal test track or the internal app sharing feature.
Reduce resource count and size by removing unused resources and using scalable drawables
Another way to reduce your app's size is to optimize the resources that you include in your app, such as images, sounds, fonts, layouts, animations, and so on. Resources can take up a significant amount of space in your app, especially if you have multiple versions for different screen sizes, densities, orientations, languages, and so on. Therefore, it is important to remove any unused or duplicate resources from your app, and use scalable drawables whenever possible.
To remove unused resources from your app, you can use the Remove Unused Resources refactoring action in Android Studio, which analyzes your code and resources and identifies the ones that are not referenced anywhere in your project. You can then delete them safely from your project.
To use scalable drawables in your app, you can use vector graphics or adaptive icons instead of bitmap images. Vector graphics are images that are defined by XML files that describe the geometric shapes, colors, gradients, and paths that make up the image. They can be scaled up or down without losing quality or increasing size. Adaptive icons are icons that consist of two layers: a foreground layer and a background layer. They can adapt to different shapes and effects depending on the device theme and preferences.
To use vector graphics in your app, you can create them using tools such as Android Studio's Vector Asset Studio or Adobe Illustrator. You can then reference them in your XML layouts or code using the android:src attribute or the setImageResource() method. To use adaptive icons in your app, you need to create two drawable files: one for the foreground layer and one for the background layer. You then need to create an XML file that references these two files using the tag. You can then set this file as your app icon in your manifest file using the android:icon attribute.
Use ProGuard to minimize the size of code and resources
ProGuard is a tool that shrinks, optimizes, and obfuscates your code by removing unused code and renaming classes, methods, and fields with short names. This can reduce the size of your code and resources by up to 90%, and also make your app harder to reverse engineer. ProGuard is integrated with the Android build system, and you can enable it by setting the minifyEnabled property to true in your app's build.gradle file. You can also customize the behavior of ProGuard by using a proguard-rules.pro file, where you can specify rules for keeping or discarding certain classes, methods, fields, or annotations.
Compress resources and images using WebP format and vector graphics
Another way to reduce your app's size is to compress the resources and images that you use in your app, such as PNG, JPEG, or GIF files. You can use various tools and techniques to reduce the size of these files, such as cropping, resizing, reducing color depth, or applying lossy or lossless compression algorithms. One of the most effective ways to compress images is to use the WebP format, which is a modern image format that supports both lossy and lossless compression, as well as transparency and animation. WebP images can be up to 30% smaller than PNG or JPEG images, while maintaining the same quality and features.
To use WebP images in your app, you can convert your existing images to WebP format using tools such as Android Studio's Image Asset Studio or cwebp command-line tool. You can then reference them in your XML layouts or code using the android:src attribute or the setImageResource() method. You can also use vector graphics instead of bitmap images for icons, logos, or simple shapes, as explained in the previous section.
Minimize resource overhead by using ViewStubs and splash screens
Another way to reduce your app's size is to minimize the resource overhead that your app incurs when loading and displaying its user interface. Resource overhead refers to the amount of memory and CPU time that your app consumes when inflating and rendering its views, such as layouts, widgets, animations, and so on. A high resource overhead can slow down your app's startup time and performance, and also increase its battery consumption and memory usage.
To minimize resource overhead in your app, you can use various techniques such as using ViewStubs and splash screens. A ViewStub is a lightweight view that acts as a placeholder for another view that is inflated only when needed. For example, you can use a ViewStub for a view that is only visible in certain conditions or scenarios, such as an error message or a confirmation dialog. This way, you can avoid inflating and rendering the view until it is actually required, saving memory and CPU time.
To use a ViewStub in your app, you need to create a ViewStub element in your XML layout file, and specify the layout attribute with the ID of the layout resource that you want to inflate later. You also need to assign an ID to the ViewStub element itself, so that you can reference it in your code. You can then inflate the ViewStub programmatically by calling the inflate() method on the ViewStub object, which returns the inflated view. You can also set a visibility listener on the ViewStub object to perform any actions before or after the inflation.
A splash screen is a screen that is displayed while your app is loading its main content or performing some initialization tasks. It can improve your app's perceived performance and user experience by providing visual feedback and branding information to the user. However, a splash screen can also increase your app's size if you use a large image or animation for it. Therefore, it is recommended to use a simple and lightweight splash screen that matches your app's theme and style.
To use a splash screen in your app, you need to create a drawable resource that contains the image or animation that you want to display on the splash screen. You also need to create a theme for your splash screen that references this drawable resource as its window background. You then need to apply this theme to your main activity in your manifest file using the android:theme attribute. You also need to remove any window flags or transitions that might interfere with the splash screen display.
Split the app into multiple APKs for different features or configurations
Another way to reduce your app's size is to split it into multiple APKs for different features or configurations. This way, you can deliver only the relevant parts of your app to each user's device, depending on their preferences or needs. For example, you can split your app into multiple APKs based on screen size, density, CPU architecture, language, or feature. This can reduce the download and installation size of your app, as well as the memory and storage usage on the device. To split your app into multiple APKs, you can use various methods such as APK splits, dynamic feature modules, or instant apps. APK splits allow you to create separate APKs for different device configurations, such as screen size, density, CPU architecture, or language. You can configure APK splits in your app's build.gradle file using the splits block. You then need to upload all the generated APKs to Google Play Console, and Google Play will serve the appropriate APK to each user's device. Dynamic feature modules allow you to create separate APKs for different features of your app, such as a premium feature or a game level. You can configure dynamic feature modules in your app's settings.gradle file using the include block. You then need to upload your app bundle to Google Play Console, and Google Play will generate and serve the base APK and the feature APKs to each user's device. You can also control when and how to download and install the feature APKs on demand or conditionally using the Play Core library. Instant apps allow you to create separate APKs for different parts of your app that can be launched instantly from a link or a search result, without requiring installation. You can configure instant apps in your app's build.gradle file using the instantApp block. You then need to upload your app bundle to Google Play Console, and Google Play will generate and serve the instant app APKs to each user's device. You can also provide an option for users to install your full app from the instant app using the Install API. Use Lint to identify and fix potential issues with app size
Lint is a tool that analyzes your code and resources and identifies potential issues with your app's quality, performance, security, usability, accessibility, and compatibility. It can also help you with reducing your app's size by detecting and suggesting fixes for issues such as unused resources, inefficient layouts, redundant attributes, large images, and so on.
To use Lint in your app, you can run it from Android Studio by selecting Analyze > Inspect Code from the menu bar. You can then view the results in the Inspection Results window, where you can see the severity, category, description, and location of each issue. You can also apply quick fixes for some issues by clicking on the light bulb icon next to them.
You can also customize the behavior of Lint by using a lint.xml file, where you can specify which issues to enable or disable, change their severity level, or add custom rules. You can then place this file in your app's root directory or in any source set directory.
Conclusion
In this article, we have discussed how to reduce Android app size to 1 MB or less by using various techniques such as using Android App Bundle, reducing resource count and size, using ProGuard, compressing resources and images, minimizing resource overhead, splitting the app into multiple APKs, and using Lint. These techniques can help you optimize your app's size and performance without compromising quality or functionality.
Some examples of apps that have successfully reduced their size using these techniques are:
Google Maps Go: A lightweight version of Google Maps that uses only 0.09 MB of space and provides basic navigation features.
Facebook Lite: A simplified version of Facebook that uses only 1.59 MB of space and provides core social networking features.
YouTube Go: A data-efficient version of YouTube that uses only 9.4 MB of space and provides video streaming and downloading features.
We encourage you to try these methods and share your feedback with us. We hope you found this article useful and informative.
FAQs
What is the maximum app size limit for Google Play?
The maximum app size limit for Google Play is 150 MB for both APKs and app bundles. However, you can use expansion files or dynamic asset delivery to deliver additional assets up to 4 GB.
How can I check the size of my app on different devices?
You can check the size of your app on different devices by using the App Size report in Google Play Console. This report shows you how your app size varies across different device configurations and markets, and how it compares to similar apps in your category.
How can I use Baseline Profiles to improve code execution speed?
Baseline Profiles are files that contain information about how frequently each method in your code is executed. They are generated by Android devices based on user behavior and uploaded to Google Play. You can then download them from Google Play Console and use them to optimize your code execution speed by using the Profile Guided Optimization (PGO) feature in Android Studio. PGO uses the baseline profiles to reorder and recompile your code based on the frequency of method execution, resulting in faster startup time and lower memory usage.
How can I use App Startup library to avoid separate content provider initialization?
App Startup is a library that allows you to initialize components at app startup without using content providers. Content providers are often used to initialize components such as libraries or SDKs, but they can increase your app's size and startup time, as they are loaded and run before your app's main process. App Startup allows you to declare the components that you want to initialize in your manifest file using the tag, and then initialize them lazily or eagerly using the AppInitializer class. This way, you can reduce your app's size and startup time, and also avoid potential conflicts or crashes due to multiple content providers.
How can I change animation settings to speed up app performance?
Animations can enhance your app's user experience and visual appeal, but they can also affect your app's performance and battery consumption, especially if they are complex or frequent. You can change the animation settings in your app to speed up its performance by using the following methods:
Use hardware acceleration to render animations faster and smoother by using the android:hardwareAccelerated attribute in your manifest file or the setLayerType() method in your code.
Use transition animations to animate changes between activities or fragments by using the android:windowAnimationStyle attribute in your theme or the overridePendingTransition() method in your code.
Use shared element transitions to animate transitions between views that have a common element by using the android:transitionName attribute in your XML layouts or the setTransitionName() method in your code.
Use animation listeners to perform actions before, during, or after an animation by using the setAnimationListener() method on your Animation or Animator object.
Use animation interpolators to control the rate of change of an animation by using the android:interpolator attribute in your XML animations or the setInterpolator() method on your Animation or Animator object.
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