diff --git a/examples/whisper.android.java/app/build.gradle b/examples/whisper.android.java/app/build.gradle
index 543701e1bb1..2dcda0944d8 100644
--- a/examples/whisper.android.java/app/build.gradle
+++ b/examples/whisper.android.java/app/build.gradle
@@ -25,6 +25,18 @@ android {
   }
 
   buildTypes {
+    debug {
+      externalNativeBuild {
+        cmake {
+          // When the AGP build type is Debug, the native (NDK/CMake) build does not run
+          // compiler optimizations by default, causing a critical performance issue.
+          // We force CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE to Release here so native code stays optimized
+          // even in Debug AGP builds.
+          arguments "-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release"
+        }
+      }
+    }
+
     release {
       signingConfig signingConfigs.debug
       minifyEnabled true
diff --git a/examples/whisper.android/app/build.gradle b/examples/whisper.android/app/build.gradle
index 9f407998cdb..9ed13f84527 100644
--- a/examples/whisper.android/app/build.gradle
+++ b/examples/whisper.android/app/build.gradle
@@ -22,12 +22,25 @@ android {
     }
 
     buildTypes {
+        debug {
+            externalNativeBuild {
+                cmake {
+                    // When the AGP build type is Debug, the native (NDK/CMake) build does not run
+                    // compiler optimizations by default, causing a critical performance issue.
+                    // We force CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE to Release here so native code stays optimized
+                    // even in Debug AGP builds.
+                    arguments "-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release"
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
         release {
             signingConfig signingConfigs.debug
             minifyEnabled true
             proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android-optimize.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'
         }
     }
+
     compileOptions {
         sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_17
         targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_17