Why Does the Same Build Show Higher PSS Memory on a 16GB Device Than on a 6GB Device?

#android #gamedev #mobile #performance

Q: While running compatibility tests with GameOptim GOT Online, we noticed a counterintuitive result: the same game build shows tens of megabytes more PSS Total on a 16GB device than on a 6GB device. Reserved Total is nearly identical on both devices, and the entire difference appears in "Others." What exactly is this "Others" category?

A：This is not a measurement error. The root cause lies in how PSS is calculated.

PSS distributes the memory usage of shared libraries across all processes that use them. Since different Android devices ship with different system services, graphics drivers, ROM customizations, and framework components, the amount of shared library memory present on each device can vary significantly.

As a result, even when running the exact same game build, PSS Total may differ by tens of megabytes—or even more—between devices.

In many cases, high-end devices actually have a more complex software stack, including:

Newer Android framework versions
Additional manufacturer customizations
Larger graphics and driver stacks
More pre-installed system services

These components introduce additional shared libraries, increasing the portion of memory attributed to the game process through PSS accounting. This explains why the same game can report a higher PSS Total on a flagship device than on a lower-end device.

Importantly, this overhead is outside the game engine's direct visibility and typically appears as the gap between PSS Total and Reserved Total.

So what does the engine-level "Others" category represent?

It is different from the additional memory reflected in PSS. Within Reserved Memory, "Others" generally refers to resources that are not classified into dedicated categories, including:

Memory reserved for fragmentation management
Scene Objects (GameObjects, Transforms, MonoBehaviours)
Serialized asset data
Untracked resources such as Cubemaps and similar asset types

Therefore, it is completely normal for the same build to consume several dozen megabytes more PSS memory on a 16GB device than on a 6GB device. This difference is primarily related to the device's software environment rather than the game package itself.

Recommended Memory Analysis Approach

PSS Total reflects overall system memory pressure but can be inflated by shared-library allocation and should be interpreted carefully when comparing different devices.
Reserved Total is a better indicator of memory that is directly managed and controlled by the engine.
If the gap between PSS Total and Reserved Total continues to grow over time, it may indicate increasing usage from engine-untracked memory sources such as: