AI's memory crunch is coming for Android apps

Google says Android app developers will need to tighten performance and memory use as the industry wrestles with memory chip shortages tied to the AI data center boom. This week, the company introduced two new app quality requirements, including one aimed at reducing memory usage and optimizing code. Google pointed to “significant hardware supply constraints” that are changing how much device memory is available, potentially hurting user experience. It’s setting new performance thresholds across areas like dynamic memory and bitmap usage, plus code optimization rules to prevent slowdowns and crashes. Developers get until February 2027 to comply, and Google will add diagnostic tools later in 2026.