How to build an android application to run under low resource conditions - for a consumer who has never used a smartphone before.

1. 1.4 BILLION
Android users in the world
How do we get to the next billion?
YATIN TALUJA
ANDROID DEVELOPER, SOCIALCOPS
www.socialcops.com

2. PROMILA
• 7th Class Pass
• Can speak, read & write only in
Marathi
• Lives In Raigadh in Rural
Maharashtra
• Average user of our Android
App Collect
• This is her first interaction with
a smartphone
OUR AVERAGE USER

3. Poor
Infrastructure
Low End
Devices
UI/UX for
the next billion
OUR DAILY CHALLENGES

4. Here’s what we’ve learnt about
building for the next billion
Lines of Code
written
Data points
Collected
Developing
countries
30mn
7+
46k
50+
Field Visits &
Trainings

5. USE COLOURS WELL

6. LOVE ICONS? RETHINK IT.

7. KEEP INTERACTIONS MINIMAL

8. INCLUDE LOCAL LANGUAGE CAPABILITY
• Android officially supports 47 languages and as input using keyboard it
supports 86 languages and 52 languages via handwriting.
• Save translations of words into the app for different languages.
• Allow user to download different languages for inputing text using phone
settings.
• Handwriting is another new feature where you can just write in the way
you write on paper and it will automatically convert that to digital text.

9. DON’T MAKE USERS WAIT
• Prefetch Data
• Run Background Threads for complex
operations

10. OPTIMIZE FOR LOW MEMORY
• Use allocation tracker for keeping track for memory
taken by each object
• This library by Square which will give you information
about memory leak (https://github.com/square/
leakcanary)

11. OPTIMIZE FOR SCREEN SIZE
dp(Density independent Pixels) → 1 dp = 1 physical px for
160 dpi, and for 240 dpi 1 dp = 1.5 physical px.
→ px = dp * (dpi/160)
/// dp table

12. REDUCE BATTERY CONSUMPTION
• Battery consumption is directly proportional to network
calls, thus choose between network calls wisely
• Observe and Optimize (Use tools like Battery Historian)

13. CHOOSING BETWEEN NETWORK CALLS
• Edge takes long time to perform network operation, but
takes less battery
• Wifi takes less time to perform network operation, but take
more battery than edge
• 3g will take more time to perform network operation than
Wifi, and also consumes more battery than Wifi.
• 4g will take less time to perform network operation than Wifi,
and also consumes less power than 3g.

14. PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE.
• Persist.
• Be patient.
• Be determined.
Good Code will fix all problems ;)

15. #Android4India
@Social_Cops
Fb.com/SocialCops
www.socialcops.com