testing-compose-in-release-mode

Compose performance differs because debug builds include interpreted runtime, Live Literals, and partial optimizations that create debugging artifacts. Measuring release builds with R8 enabled eliminates these artifacts to reflect real user experiences.

To benchmark Compose startup and frame rendering, configure a release-with-symbols build, run a Macrobenchmark against a physical device, and review release compiler reports extracted from the build/compose_compiler directory to validate performance.

Configure a release variant by enabling R8 and release symbols in your Android project. You need Kotlin 2.0+ with the Compose plugin and a signed release variant, or a debug-signed release, to extract accurate compiler reports.

Compose Compiler reports for release mode testing are located in the build/compose_compiler directory of your Android project. These reports provide primary evidence to identify and fix Compose performance issues like recomposition.

Yes, you can use Macrobenchmark to verify Compose recomposition improvements by running it against a release build with R8 enabled on a physical device. This ensures measurements reflect real user experiences without debug artifacts.

Testing Compose performance in debug mode is limited by debugging artifacts such as interpreted runtime, Live Literals, and partial optimizations. These artifacts obscure real user experiences and produce inaccurate benchmark results.