Monday, May 5, 2025


IMA Android version 3.35.1 adds the `ImaSdkFactory.initialize()` method. This call begins loading necessary SDK resources before the first ad request, leading to faster load times. These changes can limit ad buffering, and help maximize ad impressions and monetization. Depending on the device, the loading process can take several seconds to complete.


We strongly recommend making the `initialize()` call as soon as possible after the app starts. This approach shortens the time to first frame for pre-roll ads, thus limiting the time users are waiting and increasing monetization potential.


For applications that implement these load time improvements, the following benefits show:

- An average decrease of 0.25 to 0.5 seconds in time to first frame.
- With larger decreases for TV implementations, up to a five second improvement.

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The following diagram shows an app using the `initialize()` method call to load system resources before a user selects a video:
![](https://developers.google.com/static/ads/blog/images/ima_latency2.png)


The `ImaSdkFactory.initialize()` call accepts an `ImaSdkSettings` instance. Use the same settings values that are used to create any `AdsLoader` instances in the app. For [client-side](https://developers.google.com/interactive-media-ads/docs/sdks/android/client-side/load-time.md.txt) and [DAI](https://developers.google.com/ad-manager/dynamic-ad-insertion/sdk/android/load-time.md.txt) for more information, see optimize IMA load time . If you have any questions, feel free to reach out using the [IMA technical forum](https://groups.google.com/g/ima-sdk).

![Portrait of the author](https://developers.google.com/static/ads/blog/images/AAuE7mCuOE0ipL96v9WF_TDUZ-jVGrtltQwnw7C4-TyT=s120-p-rw-no.jpg) - Jackson Sui, Interactive Media Ads Developer Relations

**Labels:**

[dai](https://developers.google.com/ads/blog/feeds/labels/dai.md.txt),

[ima-android](https://developers.google.com/ads/blog/feeds/labels/ima-android.md.txt),

[ima-sdk](https://developers.google.com/ads/blog/feeds/labels/ima-sdk.md.txt)