This podcast episode explores performance optimization for Android apps, focusing on baseline profiles, Perfetto, and tracing. It introduces baseline profiles as a means to improve app startups without coding, and discusses their collection and analysis using Perfetto and Jetpack Macrobenchmark. The episode also covers R8, an optimization tool for code shrinking and obfuscation, cautioning developers to test its impact thoroughly. Code shrinking, minification, and R8 usage for release builds are discussed as well. The integration of Perfetto, a system event recorder, with Android Studio's profiler is introduced, emphasizing its benefits in collecting power metrics and analyzing app performance. The episode also emphasizes the importance of analyzing traces, troubleshooting performance issues, and utilizing bug reports. Finally, it concludes by highlighting the significance of tracking performance metrics, utilizing performance tools, and dedicating resources to optimization.
Takeaways
• Baseline profiles can provide significant performance improvements to app startups without writing any code.
• Jetpack Macrobenchmark offers built-in tools for collecting and incorporating baseline profiles into Android apps.
• R8 is an optimization tool that performs code shrinking, obfuscation, and other optimizations, but developers should thoroughly test its impact on app performance.
• Perfetto is a system event recorder that enables recording specific system events based on flags and integrates with Android Studio's profiler.
• Perfetto provides insights into power metrics and device-specific support, but availability and effectiveness can vary depending on the hardware and Android version used.
• Analyzing Perfetto traces helps in identifying performance bottlenecks and optimizing app performance.
• Troubleshooting performance issues in Android involves analyzing Perfetto traces, identifying large blocks, and using bug reports for debugging.
• Bug reports provide valuable information about app behavior and RAM usage and can assist in analyzing and optimizing app performance.
• Analyzing system traces helps validate assumptions, identify jank, and assess whether all actions are necessary during specific times.
• Custom traces, available through the Jetpack library, allow developers to add trace points and analyze the time-based breakdown of different sections of their app.
• Custom traces should be strategically added around conceptual pieces of code to avoid impacting app performance and ensure meaningful data collection.
• Tracking performance metrics, using tools like Systrace, Macrobenchmark, and Microbenchmark, and dedicating resources to performance optimization are crucial for app success.
