In response to the “significant hardware supply constraints that are altering device memory availability,” Google aims to reduce the memory usage of Android apps.
On Android 17, this involves per-app memory limits that are first available on Pixel devices but will soon be adopted by an “increasing number of manufacturers.” Applications that exceed these limits “will be slowed down and may be terminated.”
Meanwhile, Google Play is establishing performance thresholds across three areas:
Dynamic memory usage (anonymous RSS + swap): This tracks the memory used for your app’s private data storage, including both active and compressed memory. It excludes files stored on the device, such as code or assets. We will assess this usage across different app states (like when your app is in use or running in the background) and device performance categories.
Bitmap memory usage: This evaluates the memory consumed by bitmaps. While bitmaps occupy memory when your app is in the foreground, they should not be held in memory for extended periods of time in non-visible app states such as background and cached.
