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How to Improve RecyclerView Scrolling Performance in Android?

Improving the scrolling performance of RecyclerView in Android can provide a more seamless experience for users. Here are some tips and best practices to achieve smoother scrolling in RecyclerView:

  • Use ViewHolder Pattern:

    Ensure you are using the ViewHolder pattern which recycles views instead of creating new ones, reducing memory usage and improving performance.

  • Efficient Adapter Data Updates:

    Use DiffUtil to efficiently update data in your RecyclerView. This class calculates the difference between two lists and outputs a list of update operations that converts the first list into the second one.

  • Fixed Item Size:

    If the items in your RecyclerView have a fixed size, set the setHasFixedSize property to true:

    recyclerView.setHasFixedSize(true);
    
  • Use Appropriate Layout Managers:

    Select the most appropriate layout manager for your use case:

    • LinearLayoutManager: Displays items in a vertical or horizontal scrolling list.
    • GridLayoutManager: Displays items in a grid.
    • StaggeredGridLayoutManager: Displays items in a staggered grid.

    Using the simplest layout manager for your needs will reduce the computational overhead.

  • Optimize Item Layouts:

    • Reduce Overdraw: Overdraw happens when the app draws the same pixel more than once within a single frame. Make sure you're not stacking multiple view backgrounds on top of each other in the item layout.
    • Simplify Layouts: Flatten your layout hierarchies for the quickest rendering times. Avoid using nested weights in LinearLayout, as they require multiple measurement passes.
    • Use ConstraintLayout: It's often more efficient and flexible than deeply nested layouts.
  • Use Bitmap Pooling with Image Libraries:

    If you're displaying images in the RecyclerView, consider using libraries like Glide or Picasso, which handle bitmap pooling and efficient loading of images.

  • Recycle Bitmaps:

    If you're handling bitmaps manually, always recycle them when they are no longer needed to free up memory.

  • On-demand Loading (Pagination):

    If you have a large dataset, consider loading the data in chunks as the user scrolls through the list, rather than loading all data at once.

  • Avoid Expensive Operations:

    During the bind phase in your adapter, avoid doing CPU-intensive operations. Also, avoid triggering layout operations during scrolling.

  • Prefetch Items:

Starting from RecyclerView 2.2.0, you can enable item prefetching which will prepare new items coming into view in advance:

if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP) {
    recyclerView.setNestedScrollingEnabled(true);
    recyclerView.setItemViewCacheSize(ViewCacheSize);
    recyclerView.setDrawingCacheEnabled(true);
    recyclerView.setDrawingCacheQuality(View.DRAWING_CACHE_QUALITY_HIGH);
}
  • Profile with Android Studio:

Use the built-in tools in Android Studio, like the Layout Inspector, GPU Overdraw debugging, and the Profiler, to pinpoint performance issues.

By following these best practices, you'll ensure that your RecyclerView is optimized for smooth scrolling performance, providing a better user experience.

  1. Optimize RecyclerView smooth scrolling in Android:

    • Use the following techniques to optimize RecyclerView for smooth scrolling:
    recyclerView.setHasFixedSize(true);
    recyclerView.setItemViewCacheSize(20);
    recyclerView.setDrawingCacheQuality(View.DRAWING_CACHE_QUALITY_HIGH);
    recyclerView.setDrawingCacheEnabled(true);
    
    • Additionally, use a lightweight and efficient Adapter and ViewHolder pattern.
  2. Avoiding layout inflation during RecyclerView scrolling:

    • Use view recycling and the ViewHolder pattern to avoid unnecessary layout inflation during scrolling. Ensure efficient view creation and reuse:
    @Override
    public MyViewHolder onCreateViewHolder(ViewGroup parent, int viewType) {
        View itemView = LayoutInflater.from(parent.getContext())
                .inflate(R.layout.my_item_layout, parent, false);
    
        return new MyViewHolder(itemView);
    }