Reducing APK Size: A Journey to Smaller Android Apps
Article Summary
Dmytro Khmelenko shares how a job candidate's pointed question about their 63 MB APK sparked a complete optimization overhaul. The results? A 62% size reduction that every Android team should study.
When an interview candidate called out their bloated APK, the Freeletics engineering team took it as a wake-up call. They systematically analyzed their 63 MB app and discovered that 90% was resources, then got to work optimizing every asset type.
Key Takeaways
- Video optimization alone cut 10 MB by reducing bitrate from 3,235 kb/s to 735 kb/s
- Switched to vector drawables for icons and supported only 3 densities (hdpi, xhdpi, xxhdpi)
- Converted images to JPG and WebP formats, saving over 25 MB on drawables
- Built CI script to block PRs that exceed APK size threshold, preventing regression
- Final result: 63 MB reduced to 24 MB (62% smaller) without sacrificing quality
Critical Insight
Through systematic resource optimization across video, audio, and images, the team reduced their APK from 63 MB to 24 MB while maintaining app quality.
