Optimizing Android App Performance: Reducing APK Size & Eliminating Memory Leaks

1. Slashing App Size: The 5 High-Impact Moves

1. Convert PNGs and JPEGs to WebP: Android Studio includes built-in right-click conversion to WebP, typically saving 40–70% in image asset footprints.
2. Vector Drawables (SVG): Replace multi-density raster drawables (mdpi, hdpi, xhdpi, xxhdpi) with single XML vector assets.
3. ProGuard / R8 Resource Shrinking: Enable shrinkResources = true to automatically discard unreferenced assets during release packaging.
4. Dynamic Feature Modules: Split heavyweight assets (like high-res 3D assets or camera filters) so users download them on-demand rather than at initial install.

2. Hunting Down Memory Leaks with LeakCanary

A memory leak occurs when an object that is no longer needed remains referenced by a longer-lived root object (like a static variable or a background coroutine), preventing the Garbage Collector from freeing its RAM.

Add LeakCanary to your debug dependencies:

debugImplementation("com.squareup.leakcanary:leakcanary-android:2.14")

LeakCanary monitors destroyed Activities and Fragments. If an Activity is not collected within 5 seconds of onDestroy(), it automatically dumps the heap and generates a visual leak trace identifying the exact reference path causing the retention.