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Android 17 / API 37 Adaptation Review

This review is scoped to this repository, not to every Android 17 platform change:

  • tools/ must keep collecting memory evidence on Android 17 devices, including cases where the target process has already exited.
  • demo/memory-lab must build and run as an API 37 target.
  • docs/ must distinguish offline parser compatibility from device-side Android 17 evidence.

Current Status

Area Status Evidence
Android 17 SDK compileSdk = 37, targetSdk = 37 demo/memory-lab/app/build.gradle.kts
AGP/Gradle AGP 9.2.0, Gradle 9.4.1; above the Android 17 setup minimum AGP 8.9.0-rc01 demo/memory-lab/build.gradle.kts, gradle-wrapper.properties
16 KB page size Existing non-legacy JNI packaging and 16 KB ELF alignment remain required app/build.gradle.kts, CMakeLists.txt
Android 17 memory-limiter evidence Live dump and demo capture now archive raw exit-info, memory-limiter status, package UID, process list, and device metadata tools/live_dumper.py, scripts/capture_memory_lab.sh
Large-screen target behavior Demo has no orientation, aspect ratio, or resize opt-out restrictions and uses a scrollable root AndroidManifest.xml, activity_main.xml

Device-side validation is still required on an Android 17 device with SDK 37 platform/build tools installed locally.

1. Build Adaptation

Android 17 maps to API 37. The demo must review compileSdk and targetSdk separately:

android {
    compileSdk = 37

    defaultConfig {
        targetSdk = 37
    }
}

compileSdk allows access to API 37. targetSdk opts the demo into Android 17 target-only behavior changes.

Before building, verify the local environment:

java -version
ls "$ANDROID_HOME/platforms/android-37"
ls "$ANDROID_HOME/build-tools" | grep '^37'

Android 17 setup also requires a compatible Android Studio/SDK setup and Build Tools 37.x. AGP 9.2.0 is already above the published minimum AGP 8.9.0-rc01, so this repo does not need an AGP bump only for API 37.

2. App Memory Limits

Android 17 introduces app memory limits as an all-app behavior on Android 17 devices. This is not gated only by targetSdk = 37, and the limits are only imposed on a subset of devices.

Evidence priority for this repository:

  1. exit_info.txt contains an ApplicationExitInfo description with MemoryLimiter:AnonSwap; the exit reason is expected to be REASON_OTHER.
  2. memory_limiter_status.txt shows device-level memory-limiter status and configured limits.
  3. meminfo.txt, proc_meminfo.txt, zram_swap.txt, smaps.txt, and showmap.txt explain the memory shape before or around the event.

am memory-limiter status is a global capability/configuration signal. It does not prove the current package was killed by the limiter. Treat exit-info as the stronger source.

Trigger-based profiling can use TRIGGER_TYPE_ANOMALY to collect heap dumps before the system kills a process for anomalous memory usage. Do not treat TRIGGER_TYPE_OOM as the primary Android 17 memory-limiter signal unless separate evidence shows an actual Java or native OOM path.

3. Collection Behavior

The live dumper now creates the dump directory and archives Android 17 evidence before requiring a running PID. This matters because a memory-limiter investigation often starts after the target process has already exited.

Expected artifacts:

  • build_fingerprint.txt, android_release.txt, android_sdk.txt, page_size.txt
  • package_uid.txt, processes.txt, activity_processes.txt
  • exit_info.txt or exit_info.err
  • memory_limiter_status.txt or memory_limiter_status.err
  • If the process is running: showmap.txt, smaps.txt, meminfo.txt, gfxinfo.txt, proc_meminfo.txt, zram_swap.txt, dmabuf_debug.txt, and optional heap.hprof

If the process is not running, the dump is still useful for exit diagnostics but is not a full panorama sample.

4. Large Screens and Resizability

For apps targeting API 37, Android 17 removes the developer opt-out from orientation and resizability behavior on large-screen devices. The demo currently has no manifest orientation, resize, or aspect-ratio restrictions, and its main content is scrollable.

Validation still needs a real Android 17 large-screen or resizable environment:

  • Rotate the device and resize the window when possible.
  • Confirm all scenario buttons remain reachable.
  • Confirm status text and bottom actions are not clipped after recreation.

5. Android 17 Review Checklist

  • compileSdk = 37
  • targetSdk = 37
  • Android SDK Platform 37 is installed
  • Build Tools 37.x is installed and used for zipalign
  • APK builds with JDK 17 and AGP 9.2.0
  • APK passes zipalign -c -P 16
  • Capture records Android release/sdk, build fingerprint, and page size
  • Capture records exit-info and am memory-limiter status
  • If MemoryLimiter:AnonSwap is present, conclusions cite exit-info, not only memory totals
  • Missing smaps, showmap, or dmabuf is reported as unavailable, not as zero

6. Validation Commands

cd demo/memory-lab
./gradlew :app:assembleDebug

APK=app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk
BUILD_TOOLS_37="$(ls -d "$ANDROID_HOME"/build-tools/37* | tail -n 1)"
"$BUILD_TOOLS_37/zipalign" -c -P 16 -v 4 "$APK"

adb install -r "$APK"
adb shell am force-stop com.androidperformance.memorylab
adb shell monkey -p com.androidperformance.memorylab 1

# After triggering scenarios in the app:
./scripts/capture_memory_lab.sh com.androidperformance.memorylab ./captures/android17

cd ../..
python3 analyze.py panorama -d demo/memory-lab/captures/android17 --markdown -o demo/memory-lab/captures/android17/report.md

If the process was killed before capture:

python3 analyze.py live --package com.androidperformance.memorylab --dump-only -o ./dumps

Use the resulting exit_info.txt, memory_limiter_status.txt, processes.txt, and meta.txt as the first-pass evidence.

References