App Size Bloat

Comments criticize the excessively large file sizes (often 100-300MB+) and RAM usage of modern mobile and desktop apps like Uber, YouTube, and Starbucks, debating causes like assets, dependencies, and platform differences while comparing to smaller alternatives.

➡️ Stable 0.7x Other
2,831
Comments
20
Years Active
5
Top Authors
#3000
Topic ID

Activity Over Time

2007
1
2008
12
2009
21
2010
51
2011
57
2012
91
2013
67
2014
92
2015
140
2016
142
2017
363
2018
209
2019
179
2020
207
2021
243
2022
266
2023
179
2024
193
2025
200
2026
118

Keywords

MB GL NORM XL OK PHONE WhatsApp YouTube OS sensortower.com app mb apps size space memory assets bloat baseline smaller

Sample Comments

Mithaldu Nov 24, 2016 View on HN

Even if the app is smaller on drive, it still takes ~200mb in ram for even the smallest apps.

saagarjha Sep 15, 2018 View on HN

Yes, due to app thinning. But 300 MB is still an insane size for an app like this.

jmalicki Jul 22, 2020 View on HN

For context, the Starbucks app on Android is 92MB. My bank's app is 180MB. They might have assets, but modern app size has become ridiculous.

arcturus17 Dec 7, 2022 View on HN

~314mb is a lot for a web app but small for a desktop or even a mobile app.

lucian1900 May 22, 2013 View on HN

Why would you want an app to take up more space than strictly necessary?

jayd16 Mar 9, 2022 View on HN

App size is inherently penalized, right? Why does it need more?

milansuk May 3, 2017 View on HN

Nice idea! I just can't figure out why is the size of app almost 30MB?

seddin Mar 2, 2019 View on HN

Do you know what makes the app weight almost 30 Mbs ?

ythn Aug 8, 2018 View on HN

I wish we could see why such a seemingly simple app is 300 MB.

hermitcrab Jan 2, 2020 View on HN

As a dinosaur who has been programming for >30 years, it shocks me how bloated many modern programs are. The installers for my own products are around 20MB and most of that is Qt libraries. But 100s of MB seems to be standard now. The Airbnb app on my iPhone is 210 MB. I understand that if you are shipping a 3d game with maps, textures, sound etc, but not for a mobile phone app.