Recently, i opened my linked in and everyone is talking about the update by AOSP (Android Open Source Project) is transitioning from using 4KB memory pages to 16KB. While reading many posts i got learned this will lead to performance boosts, To know more i dive a littler deeper.

After reading the official post, here’s what I found:

What’s Changing?

The 16KB page size is supported only on ARM64 architecture and device running Android 15 and above.

But, this change is at the kernel level. That means we as a mobile developer can’t leverage it directly instead we have to wait for the OEMs (device manufacturer) to opt in and support the 16KB memory page allocation. Without this support, the OS can’t take advantage of the improvement even if it’s Android 15+.

A Simple Analogy

To explain what will happen under the hood, assume you’re shifting rented apartment to your own house. To pack your books you had boxes that can carry 4 books each. But to make things faster you get bigger boxes that can carry 16 books each.

Getting bigger boxes makes the shipping efficient but what if you have only 2 books to move, then 14 spaces in the box is wasted.

In real terms, Android now allocates memory in 16KB chunks instead of 4KB. So even if your app needs just a little bit of memory, it will get blocks of 16KB — this boosts speed, but may lead to some RAM wastage.

The Gains and Trade offs

According to Android’s internal tests, this change can lead to:

  • Faster app launches: See improvements ranging from 3% to 30% for various apps.
  • Improved battery usage: Experience an average gain of 4.5%.
  • Quicker camera starts: Launch the camera 4.5% to 6.6% faster.
  • Speedier system boot-ups: Boot Android devices approximately 8% faster.

For users, that means faster app loads and snappier performance. For developers, especially mobile app developers, the good news is: You don’t need to do anything special if to benefit from this.

But There’s a Catch for Native Code

If your app uses native code or plugins, you may need to ensure compatibility with 16KB page size, especially if you’re doing low-level memory management. Native libraries might need updates or recompilation to align with the new memory model.

How to check app compatibility

Visit the App Bundle Explorer page in Play Console to check your app’s build compliance and get guidance on where updates may be needed. For a more detailed compatibility check, refer to Support 16 KB page sizes.