Google enforcing new Android app memory limits in February

Google is now enforcing new memory limits and has set a date for when they come into effect.

Starting in February 2027, any Android app that exceeds the new limit may be slowed down or shut down. The Google Play Store can also bury the app if the requirements aren’t met.

Now, before we get any deeper, this isn’t exactly new information. A few weeks back, Google announced it was cracking down on apps that use a lot of memory and shared resources for devs to prepare for upcoming broader memory limits.

This time around, the thresholds have actually been set, and we now know the limits:

• 4GB: 2GB while running in the foreground, 1GB for user-perceived services, 1GB while running in the background.
• 6GB: 2.25GB while running in the foreground, 1.25GB for user-perceived services, 1.25GB while running in the background.
• 8GB: 2.25GB while running in the foreground, 1.5GB for user-perceived services, 1.5GB while running in the background.
• 12GB: 3.25GB while running in the foreground, 1.75GB for user-perceived services, 1.75GB while running in the background.
• 16GB: 4.25GB while running in the foreground, 2GB for user-perceived services, 2GB while running in the background.

It should be noted that if your device has more than 16GB of RAM, it is largely exempt from these limitations.

In terms of why these limitations are coming into place, all of the signs are pointing towards the RAM shortage caused by the AI boom.

“The mobile industry is navigating significant hardware supply constraints that are altering device memory availability that over time can negatively impact the user experience,” Google said in a post on the Android Developers Blog. “Android is addressing this challenge head-on with broader memory limits that aim to protect the overall user experience from apps using excess memory and causing system-wide slowdowns.”

Source: Google via The Next Web