# Enhancing Myntra App performance: Transitioning from GIFs to Videos

DevFeed: [Enhancing Myntra App performance: Transitioning from GIFs to Videos](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/enhancing-myntra-app-performance-transitioning-from-gifs-to-videos-20135.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://medium.com/myntra-engineering/enhancing-myntra-app-performance-transitioning-from-gifs-to-videos-2aa275a29c34?source=rss----7484818e9f88---4>)

Author: Kartik Sharma

Published: 2025-08-30T07:00:01Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Myntra](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/myntra.md>)

Topics: [App](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/app.md>), [image animation](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/image-animation.md>), [Mobile](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/mobile.md>), [Playback](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/playback.md>), [Android](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/android.md>), [iOS](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ios.md>)

Tags: [android](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/android.md>), [app](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/app.md>), [gif](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/gif.md>), [h-264](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/h-264.md>), [ios](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ios.md>), [mobile-app-performance](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/mobile-app-performance.md>), [performance](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/performance.md>), [videos](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/videos.md>)

## AI overview

Myntra describes transitioning animated content in its Android and iOS apps from GIFs to video formats. The article attributes the change to GIFs' high memory usage, lower visual quality, large file sizes, and resulting performance and loading concerns, while comparing alternatives including WebP, APNG, and H.264/HLS video.

## Source excerpt

Introduction In the fast-paced world of e-commerce, every millisecond and every pixel counts. At Myntra, where visual content drives discovery and engagement, we embarked on a critical mission: to revolutionise how animations are delivered in our Android and iOS apps. This journey led us to transition from the ubiquitous GIF format to more efficient video formats, unlocking significant performance gains and a superior user experience. Background on GIFs The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) has been a widely-used format for looping animations since its introduction in 1987. Its simplicity and broad compatibility made it a go-to choice in mobile apps. However, despite its ubiquity, GIFs come with several drawbacks that can negatively impact app performance and user experience. Challenges with GIFs in Myntra App At Myntra, we used GIFs extensively for animations in our home and brand page's widgets. Our existing Image components provided easy GIF playback. However, GIFs came with some serious drawbacks in native mobile environments: High Memory Usage: GIFs often lead to Out of Memory (OOM) errors, especially on low-end devices. Low Quality: Limited frame rates and poor bitmap quality degraded the visual experience. Large File Sizes: GIF assets were large, increasing network load and loading times. To mitigate these issues temporarily, we implemented several workarounds. These included optimising GIF assets and imposing restrictions on the file size of GIFs during the ingestion process. However, these were interim solutions and the move to an alternate was necessary for a more permanent and effective fix. Exploring Alternatives Before settling on a solution, we explored several alternatives to GIFs: WebP: This format offers better compression and quality than GIFs. It has broad web support and is native on Android, but is only supported natively on iOS versions 14 and above. APNG (Animated PNG): APNG provides excellent image quality and strong web browser support. Howe