App install size the same on different device types

Question

When I install my app on my main/new phone, the installed size is around 18.5MB and when I install my app on an old Samsung Galaxy Ace (Mk1), for some reason, it installs with pretty much the same size, as you see here:

It runs perfectly on my main phone, but obviously, the old Galaxy Ace really struggles with it.

Now, I download a random game from the Play Store and with that one you can see the results here:

Much better, it takes up less space on the less capable phone than it does on the more capable phone.

However, my question is, where can I start to try to figure out why my app doesn't exhibit this desired behaviour?

Information about my project

I have provided 4 sets of Graphics within my project and they are:

Graphics

• XHDPI: Total of 3.73MB
• HDPI: Total of 2.87MB
• MDPI: Total of 1.33MB
• LDPI: Total of 1.03MB

Sound

• OGG Sound Files: 202KB
• MP3 Soundtrack: 5.6MB

The (Unsigned and signed) APK file is about 16.02MB

Apart from that there is a classes.dex file within the APK which is about 3.5MB.

In Eclipse, I link BaseGameUtils and Google-play-service-lib jar files.

I know that my game is slightly more resource hungry than the other game I downloaded - but that isn't the point of this question. I need to make sure that the size of the installed app is smaller on lesser capable phones than it is 'better' ones but as you can see, mine is exactly the same.

Any help would be appreciated.

Edit

Additional information if it helps:

The Samsung Galaxy Ace is running Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread

The other phone is running Android 4.4.2 Kit Kat

Answer 1

the answer is the picture.. you see android apps can specify locations where apps are supposed to be installed, whether internal or external- you can do that in your android manifest file

android:installLocation="auto"

Looking at your app you from the settings screenshot you have not specified that element in your manifest hence the "move_to_sdCard button" is inactive. Your apps installs in internal memory

coming to the other app, looking at the screenshot you will see that the "move_to_phone button" is active because they specified that feature hence since there wasn't enough space on your device it automatically installed your app on the internal-external memory or strictly external memory.. But when that feature is set not all resources or files are installed on the internal-external memory they are shared, so the size gets trimmed in the process hence that ouput.

Speaking about the lag of your app, you need to digg into your codes pretty much. also newer apis contain functions the old ones do not have, hence you need to re-evaluate the kinds of codes you choose..

Hope i am lucid enough