With the unprecedented increase in mobile storage that has gone up to 256 GB, the app size is also increasing hand-in-hand. As developers try to add new features, personalized & customized experiences, support to different screens, app size is destined to increase.
Going by some statistics, 74 % of users worldwide are using Android devices and always look at the app size before downloading it. As every user doesn’t have that much space to store big apps, they tend to ignore them, until & unless they are very important to them.
However, users can use cloud space for photos, videos, and other files, but still, they are facing hanging issues because of the large app size. To sort this issue forever for Android app development services, now developers are looking for ways to reduce app size while keeping all the prime features and personalized experience:
Now, let’s have a look at the ways to reduce android app size or APK size during Android app development:
1. Image Optimization
Images that have high resolution look good and gauge the user’s attention in the first place.
Now, most Android smartphones come with high-resolution cameras, the images clicked by them have to be optimized by diluting their original resolution. And if you want to keep the quality of the image, converting them into .webp is a better way to achieve it.
If you utilize the images with their original size, it may hamper the app quality. So always upload images in web format. To convert png files, tools like pngcrush or Zopflipng can be used. For files in jpeg format, packJPG and Guetzli can be used. The technique of vector graphics can also be used to make simple and effective images.
2. Removal of Dead Code
The size of the APK file is directly linked to the loading time of the app. It also influences the memory the app uses and the power. So any unused code you have that doesn’t have any use as well only increases the junk. The removal of these unwarranted or dead codes paves the way for the efficient working of the app every time.
Plus, this code removal also increases the authenticity of the code and the overall memory to maintain the code.
3. Reuse your Resource
Well, reusing has always been considered a better option than removal. It allows you to utilize your resources in multiple ways. It helps to reduce the size of Android APK and ensures smooth performance. Well, still you can eliminate those resources that act as a rotated equivalent of another resource.
4. Multiple APK Files Support
Intrinsically, many APKs have content that gets downloaded but has no use. For instance, add-ons like additional languages are automatically downloaded but have no use. This occupies unnecessary space and makes the app for download and use.
Now, developers still can’t download only the parts that tend to be beneficial to the users. But still, they are working on it.
But to make this work, developers can upload the app over Google Play Store via Android App Bundle. It ultimately allows Google to optimize APK as per the device requirement. To make this happen, one app can be divided into multiple APKs. If this applies effectively, users can get the beneficial APKs
5. Avoid Enumerations
Enums are always doubtful. This is a data type that contains a fixed set of constants. A single Enum can add up to 2KB to the classes.dex file of an application. These elements can hamper speed and pave the way for slow processing.
But this issue can be solved through the use of ProGuard. This can convert Enums into integers and reduce the overall app size.
Parting Words
Well, there are more ways to reduce the size of Android apps, but we have mentioned some significant ones for you. You can implement these ways during the Android app development phase. This will increase the app’s efficiency and intact the original experience of the app.
Looking for an app with less size and multiple functionalities from a mobile app development company? Our Android app developers have the extensive domain knowledge to achieve this for you.
