App performance to drive app excellence

Posted by Maru Ahues Bouza, Director Android Developer Relations

hand drawing shapes on a tablet

In our previous blog post in this series, we defined app excellence as “creating an app that provides consistent, effortless, and seamless app user experiences. It is high performing and provides a great experience, no matter the device being used.” Let’s focus on the concept of app performance — what are the features of high performing apps, and how do you achieve app excellence through strong performance?

From a user’s perspective, high-performing apps “just work.” However, the process of creating a high performing app is not always straightforward. To break things down, here are the main dimensions of high performance:

Stability

An app should be robust and reliable. It should not freeze (application not responding, or “ANR”) or crash. Before you launch your app, check out Google Play’s pre-launch report to identify potential stability issues. After deployment, pay attention to the Android Vitals page in the Google Play developer console. Specifically, ANRs are caused by threading issues. The ANR troubleshooting guide can help you diagnose and resolve any ANRs that exist in your app.

Quick loading

Imagine the first experience a user has of your app is…..waiting. At some point, they are going to get distracted or bored, and you have lost a new user. Your app should either load quickly or provide some sort of feedback onscreen such as a progress indicator. You can use data from Android vitals to quantify any issues you may have with start up times. Android vitals considers excessive start up times as:

  • Cold startup takes 5 seconds or longer.
  • Warm startup takes 2 seconds or longer.
  • Hot startup takes 1.5 seconds or longer.

However, these are relatively conservative numbers. We recommend you aim for lower. Here are some great tips on how to test start up performance.

Fast rendering

High quality frame rendering is not just for games. Smooth visual experiences that don’t stall or act sluggish are also important for apps. At a minimum aim to render frames every 16ms to achieve 60 frames per second, but bear in mind there are devices in the market with faster refresh rates. To monitor performance as you test, use the Profile HWUI rendering option. Here are tools to help diagnose rendering issues.

Economical with battery usage

As soon as a user realizes your app is draining their battery, they are going to consider uninstalling. Your app can drain battery through stuck partial wake locks, excessive wakeups, background Wifi scans, or background network usage. Use the Android Studio energy profiler combined with planned background work, to diagnose unexpected battery use. For apps that need to execute background tasks that require a guarantee that the system will run them even if the app exits, WorkManager is a battery friendly Android Jetpack library that runs deferrable, guaranteed background work when the work’s constraints are satisfied.

Using up-to-date SDKs

For both security and performance, it’s important that any Google or third-party SDKs used are up-to-date. Improvements to these SDKs, such as stability, compatibility, or security, should be available to users in a timely manner. You are responsible for the entire code base, including any third party SDKs you may utilize. For Google SDKs, consider using SDKs powered by Google Play services, when available. These SDKs are backward compatible, receive automatic updates, reduce your app package size, and make efficient use of on-device resources.

To learn more, please visit the Android app excellence webpage, where you will find case studies, practical tips, and the opportunity to sign up for our App Excellence summit..

In our next blog posts, we will talk about seamless user experiences across devices. Sign up to the Android developer newsletter here to be notified of the next installment and get news and insights from the Android team.

4 tips to grow your blog’s audience

Christina Galbato may have started as a travel blogger, but her career as a content creator has taken her on a different journey – helping other creators achieve their goals. “I started to notice a lot of the questions I was getting were less about ‘What are your travel tips for this?’ and more ‘How can I do what you do?” she shares. Galbato has made it her mission to help other bloggers and influencers earn success while remaining authentic and relatable. She sat down with us recently to share her top tips for attracting readers to a new blog. 

Raunak Mahesh and Christina Galbato are pictured side by side, smiling.

Christina Galbato shares her top tips for bloggers hoping to grow their online followings.

1. Listen to your audience

Listening to your readers can help you create engaging content. When Christina realized her audience was interested in learning more about her business, she shifted gears and started creating content and classes that answered their questions. “I think the biggest thing has been constantly having conversations with my audience and understanding where they're at – remaining connected to what my audience wants to see is really important,” she explains. 


2. Focus on branding 

From your color scheme and imagery to the title of your blog, your site should let readers know at a glance exactly what to expect from your posts. “You always want to make sure the content you're creating is in line with your brand,” Christina says. Your site’s branding should always reflect the kind of content you’re promoting. For example, if you’re hoping to attract a high-end audience, she suggests going with “a more refined theme, maybe even adding some serif fonts as they tend to be more luxurious.”


3. Keep new readers coming back

Once someone has discovered your blog, it’s important to stay connected so they’ll know about your future posts. One of the best ways to do this is by offering bonus content in exchange for joining your mailing list. “You have to give people some sort of incentive to get on your list,” Christina says. “People only take action when there's something in it for them, so I would recommend creating some sort of freebie opt-in that your audience would be interested in.” Expert recommendations and educational content are great ideas for bonus posts. 


4. Promote your blog online 

So, how can you attract readers to your blog? Digital marketing can seem overwhelming at first, but Christina has a few suggestions to help you get started:


  • Learn SEO: “Before you even start writing blog posts,” Christina says, “I would get educated on SEO (search engine optimization) because that will really inform how you're writing your posts.” She recommends using KeySearchto find popular topics and keywords to help your blog rank in search results for your niche. 

  • Get on Pinterest: “One of my favorite things about Pinterest is that you don't necessarily need to have a following for a pin of yours to really pick up,” Christina shares. It’s okay to start small – three or four well-designed pins that tie in to your niche are enough to bring new readers to your blog. 

  • Give sneak peeks on social media:Blog posts are what Christina calls “macro content” – larger pieces that can be broken down into smaller pieces for use on social media or Web Stories. Social media is a great way to tease parts of your blog posts and entice your followers to click through to your blog. In her social posts, Christina shares, “I offer a tiny little snippet of what's in the blog post, and then tell people, ‘For more, for the juiciest stuff, you're going to have to go to the blog post.’" 

For more tips from Christina – including how to build brand partnerships after you establish your blog – check out our full video interview. And don’t forget to visit Christina’s site to learn more.

A new dimension for cultural artifacts

At Google Arts & Culture we are always looking for ways to help people understand and learn about culture in new and engaging ways. Starting today, we are launching a new feature through which our 2,000 plus cultural partner institutions can create guided 3D tours about buildings, sculptures, furniture, and more from their collections. With the help of 3D Tours you can easily whiz around historic sites, monuments and places of interest while learning about their hidden details and historical backgrounds - all courtesy of 3D data from Google Earth.


So how about a personal guided tour through Tokyo’s tallest towers, Florence’s beautiful basilicas or South Africa’s historical halls? These and 16 other 3D Tours make use of ModelViewer —  a tool through which interactive 3D models can easily be displayed on the web and in augmented reality. Not only will you be able to navigate smoothly to each stop of the tour but objects along the way can also be viewed in AR. So while you explore the heights of Tokyo Tower, you can discover its historic inspiration in your own home.

Take a tour of Florence’s Basilica of Santa Croces

Take a tour of Florence’s Basilica of Santa Croces

Climb into a famous artwork

Another way we are bringing art and culture to life is through Art Filter, a feature in the Google Arts & Culture camera tab that applies machine learning and augmented reality to turn you into a masterpiece. Today we have added five new artworks and artifacts to Art Filter for you to immerse yourself in. For example, become the Roman god of seasons as Arcimboldo’s Vertumnus, or cast a stony glare through the head of Medusa. 


  • Artwork of a blurry figure touching its face mid-scream.

    Admire the brushwork of Edvard Munch while letting out your best Scream

  • A man wearing a Victorian Bonnet with petals rising behind him.

    Step back in time to strike a pose with a historical Victorian bonnet

  • Gif of a face being built up from different vegetables.

    Feast your eyes on the fruits and flowers of Arcimboldo’s Vertumnus

  • A Gif of someone smiling using the Mona Lisa Art Filter.

    Follow the history of Mona Lisa as you help reveal her elusive smile

  • A golden face surrounded by a silver and gold halo of serpents.

    Celebrate Greek mythology as you learn the story of Medusa

How does it work?

Art Filter’s machine learning-based image processing positions the artifacts organically and smoothly on your head, or reacts to your facial expressions to make the filters as realistic as possible. What’s more, you can learn about each artwork from the fun facts that appear before the effect is applied. 


We hope these 3D tours and new filter options will help you explore the hidden details of these historic artifacts and feel connected to cultural heritage around the world.  


Find the tours on the Google Arts & Culture site or app. Art Filter is available in the Camera Tab of the free Google Arts & Culture app for Android and iOS.

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How this engineer’s career break led her to Google

Welcome to the latest edition of “My Path to Google,” where we talk to Googlers, interns and alumni about how they got to Google, what their roles are like and even some tips on how to prepare for interviews.

Today we spoke with Kiranmayi Bhamidimarri, a software engineer at our Bangalore office, who shares her story of joining Google after taking a year-and-a-half break from the workforce. 

What’s your role at Google?

I am a software engineer for Google Cloud, where I work on Cloud Spanner — a database management and storage service. My team is focused on developing introspection tools for this system, which help our customers better understand any issues with their Spanner databases. 

What was it like taking a break from the workforce?

Stepping back from the workforce marked a turning point in my life. Through a lot of reflection, I grew both as a person and as a professional during that period — even though I wasn’t working. For example, I discovered that I care deeply about diversity and inclusion in all aspects of my career, including the places I work. After taking the time to develop these bigger-picture perspectives and once I felt comfortable balancing things in my personal life, I started exploring returning to work. 

What made you decide to apply to Google?

I came across the concept of Carer’s Leave and what this benefit looks like at Google. When a family member or loved one falls seriously ill, Google's Carer's Leave policy allows employees to take the time they need to provide or find care for them. I liked the idea of working at a company that helps employees support their family in times of need. This led me to researching Google’s culture overall. I loved that Google is an inclusive place that would allow me to bring my whole self to work and not leave my personal life behind — which became especially important to me after my career break. 

How did you approach the Google application process after taking a career break?

At first, I was very nervous and told myself not to be too ambitious. I struggled with impostor syndrome and wasn’t sure if I would do well in the interviews, which I’d always heard were challenging. Then a friend who interviewed with Google shared her positive experience with me, and busted many myths. She explained, for example, that the interviews focus on thought process rather than the exact solution. She ultimately helped me realize my worth and put my best foot forward. 

What was the interview process like for you?

When I first decided to apply, I asked a friend who recently joined Google for advice. He guided me through the process and even helped me with a referral, but I was rejected at the resume screening phase. At the time, my resume didn't reflect my actual skills and experience. I didn’t list everything I’d worked on, because I was afraid I had forgotten too much during my break to explain or answer questions. I was shrinking myself into someone else so they wouldn't expect so much from me. 

My friend who referred me encouraged me to revamp my resume and try again. I reached out to some Google recruiters on LinkedIn, who took the time to speak with me and look at my updated resume. One of the recruiters set up a phone interview, and that kicked off the process. 

What’s one thing you wish you could go back and tell yourself before applying? 

It’s okay not to be perfect. During my phone interview, I answered one of the questions incorrectly. I was nervous and disappointed about the mistake, but the interviewer encouraged me to try again and I ultimately found the right solution. So I would tell myself that it's okay to make mistakes, as long as I learn from them and continue to grow. 

I would also reassure myself that I won't be treated differently because of my career break. That was a big fear of mine, and I'm so happy I was proven wrong. I am grateful to everyone at Google who spoke to me about my hesitations with returning to the workforce, and provided mentorship and support. Now six months in, I continue to feel valued and encouraged to bring every part of myself to work.


Google’s support of the news industry in Japan

Twenty years ago, Google opened its first office in Japan. Today, we are announcing new investments that will continue our support of the country’s vibrant news industry. These investments will help people find quality journalism and contribute to the sustainability of news organizations. They will also help newsrooms engage their readers in new ways, through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Launching Google News Showcase in Japan 

To support news organizations and readers in Japan, we’re introducing Google News Showcase, our new curated online experience and licensing program. News Showcase panels display an enhanced view of an article or articles, giving participating publishers more ways to bring important news to readers and explain it in their own voice, along with more direct control of presentation and branding. The panels will appear across Google News on Android, iOS and the web, and in Discover on iOS and Android. They direct readers to the full articles on their websites, driving valuable traffic to those news organizations and enabling them to deepen their relationships with readers. 

Starting today, News Showcase is rolling out in Japan with more than 40 news publishers including national, regional and local news organizations like The Yomiuri Shimbun, The Asahi Shimbun Company, Nikkei Inc.,The Chunichi Shimbun, KAHOKU SHIMPO PUBLISHING CO. and The Kyoto Shimbun Co., Ltd., together with news agencies JIJI PRESS, LTD. and Kyodo News. This launch builds on News Showcase deals signed with nearly 1,000 news publications in more than a dozen countries, including India, Germany, Brazil, Canada, France, the U.K., Australia, Czechia, Italy, Colombia and Argentina,with discussions underway in several other countries. More than 90% of the publications that have joined News Showcase so far provide local or community news. 

The primary goal of News Showcase is to highlight news publishers that are invested in comprehensive current events journalism in the public interest. We are giving them a new way to curate their high-quality content on Google’s News and Discover platforms, bringing essential news coverage to readers looking for it.

This GIF shows examples of how News Showcase panels will look with the content of some of our news partners in Japan

Examples of how News Showcase panels will look with the content of some of our news partners in Japan.

As part of our licensing agreements with publishers for News Showcase, we're also paying participating news organizations to give readers access to a limited amount of paywalled content. This feature means readers will have the opportunity to read more of a publisher’s articles than they would otherwise be able to, encouraging them to learn more about the publication — and potentially subscribe. 

An example of how some of the news from our partners in Japan will look using News Showcase panels

Example of how some of the content from our News Showcase partners in Japan will look

What our partners have to say about News Showcase 

"We are joining Google News Showcase to deliver high-quality news content in the Chunichi Shimbun and the Tokyo Shimbun to as many people as possible,” says Koji Hirata, Director and Editor-in-Chief of The Chunichi Shimbun, the top regional newspaper covering Tokai, Chubu and the Kanto/Tokyo Metropolitan region. “Apart from daily news, we will select unique stories that capture multiple perspectives and introduce them to users. Through Google News Showcase, we want readers to find a wide variety of information in the Chunichi Shimbun Web and the Tokyo Shimbun TOKYO Web that helps them make better choices for their life and future.” 

“By participating in Google News Showcase, we look forward to extending the accurate and useful news we provide for people in Kyoto and Shiga,” says Tokuyuki Enjo, the Chief Editor of the Kyoto Shimbun, a local newspaper company covering the Kyoto and Shiga area. “In addition, we will work to bring content that touches upon the deep traditional culture and history of Kyoto to a broader audience than ever before.”

“We are thrilled to provide news from Okinawa Times globally through Google News Showcase,” says Kazue Yonamine, Director, Editor-in-Chief of The Okinawa Times, a local newspaper covering the Okinawa area. “Google's cooperation has become indispensable for the development of journalism. We aim to cooperate with each other and deliver useful information for the creation of a sustainable society.” 

“As a local newspaper, our mission has been to deliver global and local news to the community in print. In the digital era, we need to expand our role to deliver local news to a broader global audience." said Seichiro Hanafusa, the webmaster of Shikoku Shimbun, the local newspaper covering the Shikoku region. "Google News Showcase is a tool for us to deliver our news articles across Japan as well as the world, and lets users easily subscribe to our content. With this opportunity, we will work even harder to create valuable content that motivates users to pay for."

Logos of our Japan news partners for Google News Showcase

Logos of our Japan news partners for Google News Showcase

Expanded support through the Google News Initiative

News Showcase is just one part of our overall commitment to Japan’s news industry. We are expanding our Google News Initiative (GNI) efforts in Japan as well.  

Women Will Leadership Program: To promote a more inclusive culture for the news industry, we are launching a news-specific track of Google’s Women Will Leadership Program. Through two months of leadership skills training and problem solving workshops, this program will help women working in news to advance their careers and support companies seeking to drive change in the work environment.   

GNI Local Lab:We’re expanding the GNI Local Lab to support local news publishers in Japan. We will train more than 40 news publishers across regional prefectures with workshops and knowledge-sharing sessions to help news organizations improve their site performance and provide hands-on implementation support to grow digital revenue streams for local publishers. 

Build New Local: We are also supporting Build New Local, a project led by local newspapers to help them use technology to connect and digitally transform so they can become more sustainable and reach new audiences. Through Grow with Google and Google News Lab, Google has provided skills training in areas such as digital marketing and audience development. We also supported an idea hackathon, where local newspapers gathered to solve common challenges by sharing tips on design thinking from CSI: Lab, and a new business idea contest will start later this year.

These programs build on our long-term support for Japanese news organizations of all sizes. Through News Lab we have trained more than 18,000 journalists on digital reporting tools, fighting misinformation and covering Japan's upcoming elections. We’ve provided digital transformation training to publishers on reader revenue, audience and digital ads via the GNI Digital Growth Program, and advanced audience engagement recommendations via the News Consumer Insights tool.  And throughout the pandemic, our Journalism Emergency Relief Fund and GNI Innovation Challenge projects have helped local news organisations to continue providing the information their communities need. 

Japan’s news industry has embraced technology to engage with readers and make data-driven decisions. We believe digital platforms can contribute to a sustainable, independent and diverse news industry, working with journalists, news outlets and news associations. We’re proud to be strengthening our commitment through News Showcase, along with our other News products and GNI programs, to support quality journalism.

Chrome Beta for Android Update

Hi everyone! We've just released Chrome Beta 94 (94.0.4606.50) for Android: it's now available on Google Play.

You can see a partial list of the changes in the Git log. For details on new features, check out the Chromium blog, and for details on web platform updates, check here.

If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug.

Krishna Govind
Google Chrome

Beta Channel Update for Desktop

 The Beta channel has been updated to 94.0.4606.50 for Windows ,linux and 94.0.4606.51 for Mac.


A full list of changes in this build is available in the log. Interested in switching release channels?  Find out how here. If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug. The community help forum is also a great place to reach out for help or learn about common issues.




Srinivas Sista
Google Chrome

Stable Channel Update for ChromeOS

    The Stable channel is being updated to 93.0.4577.85 (Platform version: 14092.57.0) for most Chrome OS devices. Systems will be receiving updates over the next several days.

This build contains a number of features, bug fixes and security updates.

If you find new issues, please let us know by visiting our forum or filing a bug. Interested in switching channels Find out how. You can submit feedback using ‘Report an issue...’ in the Chrome menu (3 vertical dots in the upper right corner of the browser). 

Geo Hsu

Google Chrome OS

Stable Channel Update for ChromeOS

    The Stable channel is being updated to 93.0.4577.85 (Platform version: 14092.57.0) for most Chrome OS devices. Systems will be receiving updates over the next several days.

This build contains a number of features, bug fixes and security updates.

If you find new issues, please let us know by visiting our forum or filing a bug. Interested in switching channels Find out how. You can submit feedback using ‘Report an issue...’ in the Chrome menu (3 vertical dots in the upper right corner of the browser). 

Geo Hsu

Google Chrome OS

Stable Channel Update for ChromeOS

    The Stable channel is being updated to 93.0.4577.85 (Platform version: 14092.57.0) for most Chrome OS devices. Systems will be receiving updates over the next several days.

This build contains a number of features, bug fixes and security updates.

If you find new issues, please let us know by visiting our forum or filing a bug. Interested in switching channels Find out how. You can submit feedback using ‘Report an issue...’ in the Chrome menu (3 vertical dots in the upper right corner of the browser). 

Geo Hsu

Google Chrome OS