Android is the most popular operating system and has billions of apps. Android app development is easy, which almost every developer considers.
It’s true. Android development is possible in many ways. However, it is difficult to find the right approach or tools. To make your android app available in the app store seamlessly, the best approach is essential.
The development method and the app’s high use are directly related. Mobile app development is an extremely successful field that requires high performance and smooth operation.
These are the few factors that will determine whether or not an app succeeds.
- Performance
- Battery usage
- Time is taken to load the content
- Google Play Store Reviews
Users will uninstall the app. This is the worst nightmare! This is the worst nightmare!
Optimizing the code and the approach is the best way to improve the app’s performance. These 5 tips will improve app performance and customer experience.
1) Leverage StringBuilder, but how?
If you need to add strings to a string multiple times with String, it will concatenate them. However, due to a large amount of garbage collection, this task can take around 10 seconds.
StringBuilder will reduce the time to only 4 seconds. This is a significant difference that will have an equivalent effect on app performance.
Strings can’t be changed once they have been created. Even if Strings are changed in value, new Strings will be made.
2) Updates on location – do it smartly
It is not a new idea for apps to ask users to share their location. The Google API integrates to gather location data. The different functions are called and assigned based on what type of user data the app requires at a specific frequency.
For instance:
When the app needs highly accurate location data, the function setSmallestDisplacement()can be called and distance is set so that the app will be notified about the location change only when the user gets displaced to a distance that’s more than the value set.
If the app requires location data more frequently than the setInterval() function, it will be called. This function updates the app about users’ locations after the specified intervals.
Sometimes the user may be asked to share their location in order to show it on the map. You can stop receiving location updates using onPause() and revoke it with onResume().
3) OnDraw function
This function draws the views on the screen at 60 frames per second. Each frame is prepared and drawn in 16 milliseconds. Only one thread draws the view on the main screen. If slow functions are added, the frame rate will drop to return the Application Not Responding dialog.
It is also recommended not to allocate an object to the onDraw() method and to prepare them in their constructor. It is also a good idea to call the function less often even if it’s optimized.
4) Autoboxing
This is an automatic conversion process where the Java compiler converts primitive-type objects into objects. For example, a double can be converted to a Double, or an int to an integer, etc. Unboxing is the reverse process.
It allows you to use primitive types and objects interchangeably, without the need to write extra code or perform explicit typecasting.
5) Reflection on Android
It is most useful when the package must be compatible with multiple Android versions. It allows objects to be constructed, fields to be accessed and methods to invoke at run-time.
It is still not recommended due to unsafe coding practices and intense typing loss. The reflection should be carefully considered and the impact of it measured beforehand to ensure that the app doesn’t crash.
Epilogue
There are many ways to optimize android app development. Each has its pros and cons. There is no one method that will be the best for every application.
These five tips are only a few of the many ways that developers and organizations can consider and follow them when developing apps.
Companies that have top-rated apps are equally concerned about their app’s performance.
This is a signal to you to start leveraging the tools and using the ways intelligently to launch a Google Play Store app that’s highly performant, uses less battery, and loads the content quickly.
