Android Developers: Type safe keep rules and DEX optimization

Android apps often ship under-optimized due to overly conservative keep rules often from third-party libraries, leading to bloated APKs, slower cold starts, and degraded runtime performance.



With Google Play’s new performance thresholds for DEX optimization, app visibility now directly depends on staying ahead of the optimization curve.



This talk introduces a modern R8 workflow to tackle rule bloat. You will learn to:



- Use the R8 config analyzer and skill to identify legacy rule overhead.

- Transition from broad wildcard keep rules to precise, type-safe, generated annotations.

- Prevent optimization regressions with new Android CLI tools.



Speakers: Chris Craik, Breana Tate



Chapters:

0:00 - Introduction to DEX optimization

6:02 - Overview of R8 configuration analyzer

12:03 - Case study: WHOOP optimization

14:12 - Challenges of reflection in DEX optimization

20:15 - Introduction to Jetpack Keep

23:50 - Analyzing apps with Android CLI

27:36 - Key takeaways and resources



Watch the tools & performance sessions from Android Dev Summit 2026 → https://goo.gle/ADS26-Tools-and-Perf

Watch all the sessions from Android Dev Summit 2026 → https://goo.gle/ADS26-All-Sessions





Subscribe to Android Developers → https://goo.gle/AndroidDevs





#AndroidDevSummit2026





Event: Android Dev Summit 2026



Products Mentioned: R8 Compiler, R8 Config Analyzer, Android R8, Google Play, Android CLI