Android's 16KB Page Size Explained: Flutter Migration Made Simple

Google has announced that, starting November 1, 2025, all new app submissions and updates to Google Play must support the new 16KB memory page size on Android 15+ (API level 35) 64-bit devices. This article breaks down what this means for Flutter developers and how to ensure your apps are ready for the change. This guide explains what 16KB page size is, why it matters, and how to migrate your Flutter app safely.

What Even Is Page Size?

In operating systems, memory is divided into chunks called pages. Understanding the difference between the old and new standards is critical for optimizing your app. Migrating to 16KB page size is essential for modern Android development.

• Old standard: 4KB pages → small chunks, more overhead
• New standard: 16KB pages → bigger chunks, fewer lookups, faster access

Why Google cares:

• App launches: up to 30% faster
• Battery use: ~5% lower during startup
• Camera startup: ~5–7% faster
• System boot: ~1s faster

For users, this means speed and efficiency. For devs… it means work.

Check if Your App Requires Migration

If your app is already live on the Play Store, checking is super easy. Just head over to the Play Console, open your latest release, and in the Bundle section click the little arrow next to your app bundle. Scroll down to the App details and you’ll spot a Memory page size field. That’s where Google politely tells you whether your app is a 16KB-friendly citizen or still stuck in the 4KB Stone Age.

The second way is for those of us who trust Android Studio more than our morning coffee ☕. Just make sure you’re on the latest version (because of course Google loves hiding new features behind updates). Then fire up the App Analyzer:

• Go to Build > Analyze APK…
• Open your release APK/AAB.
• Navigate to the lib/ folder to see all the .so libraries hiding inside.

If you find suspicious .so files lurking around, congrats — you’ve just discovered the freeloaders in your app bundle that might break 16KB support.

Upgrade Your Toolchain

Now that you’ve survived the detective work and figured out which parts of your app are causing trouble, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and make some changes — yes, the “fun” part where you actually fix things. The easiest way to survive the 16KB page size migration is… upgrade everything. Upgrading ensures your build tools default to proper 16KB alignment and prevents weird crashes or Play Console warnings.

• Android Gradle Plugin: 8.5.1+
• NDK: r28+ (older NDKs don’t handle 16KB properly)
• Gradle Wrapper: 8.5+
• Flutter: 3.32 or newer
• Android Studio: Narwhal 2025.1.3+ (earlier versions may misreport 16KB issues)

Even after upgrading everything, I still had some stubborn .so files that refused to migrate to 16KB. It was like trying to convince your cat to take a bath — no matter what you did, they just wouldn’t cooperate.

After some digging and a fair amount of hair-pulling 😅, I discovered this neat command that helped me pinpoint the plugins responsible for stubborn .so files:

find . -name "libnative-lib.so"

Migrating your Flutter app for the 16KB page size might sound scary at first — Play Console warnings, stubborn .so files, and endless “why is this crashing?” moments — but armed with the right tools and a bit of detective work, it’s totally doable.

Don’t wait for the deadline — some packages may not fully support the 16KB page size yet. In my case, taking action early saved a ton of headaches!