Android optimization required in 2027: the GoodBarber engine is ready

R8 is the tool Google provides to prepare an Android app's code before it goes live. It works a bit like an editor going over a book before it goes to print: cutting unnecessary passages, tightening sentences and shortening names. The story stays the same, and the app works exactly as before, only lighter and faster.

Each of these moves maps to one of Google's indicators. Shrinking removes the code and resources the app never uses, including inside third-party libraries, which makes the download smaller. Optimization rewrites the code so it runs faster, which means quicker startup and smoother navigation.

Obfuscation, finally, replaces the code's internal names with very short ones. The code becomes more compact, and harder for anyone else to pick apart.

Some parts of the code must stay untouched for the app to work, though, and we protect them with exception rules. The broader those exceptions, the lower the scores.

We enabled R8 in its most thorough mode ("full mode"), along with code obfuscation and resource shrinking. This work was done once, in the engine that generates every GoodBarber app.

Most of the effort went into the exceptions. Written sometimes years ago, for often critical features such as payments, advertising or analytics, some rules protected entire libraries. We replaced them with targeted rules, then tracked down and adapted every feature that relied on the code's internal names.

Our reference apps now score around 80% on each of the three indicators, more than three times the required minimum. Resource shrinking also cuts the download by 0.7 to 1.1 MB (−3.6% to −5.2%), depending on the app's features.

According to Google, a well-optimized app uses less memory, starts faster, freezes less often and runs more smoothly. Google cites the example of Reddit, whose app starts 40% faster, with 30% fewer freezes and a 14% smaller size. At Disney+, startup got 30% faster and freezes dropped by 25%.

Every app responds differently, but these same optimizations now apply to every app generated by GoodBarber.

Stability matters for visibility too: Google Play already penalizes apps whose crash rate exceeds 1.09% or whose freeze rate exceeds 0.47%. Our reference apps, built with the GoodBarber engine, show an average crash rate of 0.24%, well below that line. Finally, obfuscated code is harder to read, and therefore harder to copy.

Between the mandatory yearly update of the targeted Android version, new Google Play rules and changing local laws, the store's requirements shift several times a year. An app that is no longer updated becomes invisible to new users on recent versions of Android.

A few examples. Since August 31, 2026, every update must target at least Android 16, and GoodBarber apps are already generated for Android 17. Google also requires compatibility with the new way recent Android phones organize their memory, in 16 KB blocks. Our engine already handles it. February 2027 will bring the code optimization minimum, which we already exceed, and a cap on memory usage.

With GoodBarber, this work is done once in the engine, for every app. It is included in your subscription, and every new version of your app is generated with the up-to-date engine. Our CTO, Dumè Siacci, explains what happens to your app with each new version of iOS and Android.

The new engine has been in production for a few weeks. Any new version of your Android app published before February 2027 will automatically benefit from all these optimizations.

Do you publish on Google Play yourself? Our guide Update your app on Google Play walks you through each step. If our team publishes for you through the GBTC service, request an update of your Android app: they take care of the rest.