Performance class

Performance class is a standard first introduced in Android 12. A performance class defines a set of device capabilities that goes beyond Android's baseline requirements.

Each version of Android has its own corresponding performance class, which is defined in that version's Android Compatibility Definition Document (CDD). The Android Compatibility Test Suite (CTS) verifies the CDD requirements.

Each Android device declares the performance class that it supports. Developers can discover the device's performance class at runtime and provide upgraded experiences that take full advantage of the device’s capabilities.

To discover a device's performance class level, use the Jetpack Core Performance library. This library currently reports the device's media performance class. Start by creating an instance of DevicePerformance in your Application's onCreate() lifecycle event:

var devicePerformance = DevicePerformance.create(context)

DevicePerformance devicePerformance = DevicePerformance.create(context);

You can then retrieve the mediaPerformanceClass property to tailor your app's experience based on the device's capabilities:

when {
  devicePerformance.mediaPerformanceClass >= Build.VERSION_CODES.T -> {
    // Performance class level 13 and above
    // Provide the most premium experience for highest performing devices
  }
  devicePerformance.mediaPerformanceClass == Build.VERSION_CODES.S -> {
    // Performance class level 12
    // Provide a high quality experience
  }
  else -> {
    // Performance class level 11 or undefined
    // Remove extras to keep experience functional
  }
}

if (devicePerformance.mediaPerformanceClass >= Build.VERSION_CODES.T) {
  // Performance class level 13 and above
  // Provide the most premium experience for highest performing devices
} else if (devicePerformance.mediaPerformanceClass == Build.VERSION_CODES.S) {
  // Performance class level 12
  // Provide a high quality experience
} else {
  // Performance class level 11 or undefined
  // Remove extras to keep experience functional
}

Performance classes are forward-compatible. A device can upgrade to a newer platform version without updating its performance class. For example, a device that initially supports performance class 12 can upgrade to Android 13 and continue to report it supports class 12 if it does not meet the class 13 requirements. This means that a performance class provides a way to group devices together without relying on a particular Android version.

Performance class 13

Performance class 13 builds on requirements introduced in performance class 12. The specific performance class requirements are published in the Android CDD. In addition to increased requirements for items from performance class 12, the CDD specifies new requirements in the following areas:

Media

• AV1 hardware decoder
• Secure hardware decoders
• Decoder initialization latency
• Round-trip audio latency
• Wired headsets and USB audio devices
• MIDI devices
• Hardware-backed trusted execution environment

Camera

• Preview stabilization
• Slow-mo recording
• Minimum zoom ratio for ultrawide cameras
• Concurrent camera
• Logical multi-camera
• Stream use case

Performance class 12

Performance class 12 focuses on media use cases. The specific performance class requirements are published in the Android CDD. The CDD specifies requirements in the following areas:

Media

• Concurrent video codec sessions
• Encoder initialization latency
• Decoder frame drops
• Encoding quality

Camera

• Resolution and frame rate
• Startup and capture latencies
• FULL or better hardware level
• Timestamp source is realtime
• RAW capability

Generic

• Memory
• Read and write performance
• Screen resolution
• Screen density

Performance class 11

Performance class 11 includes a subset of the requirements for performance class 12, allowing developers to provide a tailored experience on older, but still highly capable devices. The specific performance class requirements are published in the Android CDD.