Building an app for a mid range phone on a weak network

If you build for the phone you own, you will build the wrong app. Most students are on a mid range Android with limited storage, sharing a network that gets crowded between lectures.

So messages queue locally and send when the connection returns, instead of failing and asking you to retype. Media is compressed on the device before it is uploaded. Lists render from a local cache first and reconcile with the server after.

Storage matters as much as speed. Media is not written twice, old cache is cleared on a schedule, and you can clear a conversation without losing the conversation.

None of this is glamorous work. It is the difference between an app students keep and an app students uninstall when storage runs out during exam week.