Optimizing Android Apps: 5 Techniques to Reduce APK Size by 40% & Eliminate ANRs

Why APK Size Matters

Google Play statistics reveal that for every 6MB increase in download size, conversion rates drop by approximately 1%. Here is how to slim your app down efficiently.

1. Enable R8 Code & Resource Shrinking

In your app/build.gradle.kts, ensure code and resource shrinking is enabled for release builds:

android {
    buildTypes {
        release {
            isMinifyEnabled = true
            isShrinkResources = true
            proguardFiles(
                getDefaultProguardFile("proguard-android-optimize.txt"),
                "proguard-rules.pro"
            )
        }
    }
}