How to Render SVG on Android: AndroidSVG, Glide, PathView and More

1. AndroidSVG library

AndroidSVG is an open‑source SVG parser and renderer for Android that implements most of SVG 1.1 and SVG 1.2 Tiny static visual tags (filters and animation tags are not supported). The library can be added with the Gradle dependency implementation 'com.caverock:androidsvg:1.4'. After placing an SVG file (e.g., test2.svg) in res/raw/, you can load and display it in an ImageView:

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
        ImageView iv = findViewById(R.id.imageView4svg);
        try {
            SVG svg = SVG.getFromResource(this.getResources(), R.raw.test2);
            iv.setLayerType(View.LAYER_TYPE_SOFTWARE, null);
            iv.setImageDrawable(new PictureDrawable(svg.renderToPicture()));
        } catch (SVGParseException e) {
            Log.d(TAG, e.getMessage());
        }
    }
}

You can also use the provided SVGImageView widget, which simplifies the code but requires the library source to be added as a module because the Maven‑distributed JAR does not expose the custom XML attributes.

2. Loading SVG with Glide

Glide does not natively support SVG URLs, but you can register a custom decoder and transcoder that use AndroidSVG under the hood. The required classes ( SvgDecoder, SvgDrawableTranscoder, SvgSoftwareLayerSetter) are added to a AppGlideModule implementation. After adding the latest Glide dependencies, the usage is straightforward:

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
        ImageView ivLocal = findViewById(R.id.imageView4glide);
        ImageView ivRemote = findViewById(R.id.imageView4glide2);
        RequestBuilder<PictureDrawable> request = Glide.with(this)
                .as(PictureDrawable.class)
                .placeholder(R.drawable.placeholder)
                .error(R.drawable.ic_error)
                .transition(withCrossFade())
                .listener(new SvgSoftwareLayerSetter());
        Uri localUri = Uri.parse(ContentResolver.SCHEME_ANDROID_RESOURCE + "://" + getPackageName() + "/" + R.raw.test2);
        request.load(localUri).into(ivLocal);
        Uri remoteUri = Uri.parse("https://www.w3.org/TR/SVG11/images/shapes/polygon01.svg");
        request.load(remoteUri).into(ivRemote);
    }
}

This approach allows seamless loading of server‑delivered SVG files with smooth rendering.

3. Android‑PathView animation library

PathView builds on AndroidSVG to provide simple path‑drawing animations. After adding the library source (it depends on AndroidSVG 1.2.1), you place a PathView in your layout and specify the SVG resource via the app:svg attribute. In code you start the animation:

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
    PathView pv = findViewById(R.id.pathView);
    pv.setFillAfter(true);
    pv.useNaturalColors();
    pv.getPathAnimator().duration(3000).start();
}

The library loads the SVG, extracts all <path> elements, and animates their drawing length using an ObjectAnimator that updates a custom percentage property.

4. Attempted custom SvgDrawable based on VectorDrawable

Two experimental approaches tried to reuse Android's VectorDrawable and AnimatedVectorDrawable for SVG files. The first approach attempted to convert an SVG into a vector XML string and inflate it with VectorDrawable.inflate(), but it failed because VectorDrawable only accepts compiled resources from res/drawable, not raw XML files. The second approach used reflection to access the private mVectorState field of VectorDrawable and set viewport size and paths manually. This also failed because the field is hidden in the platform implementation, making reliable reflection impossible. Both attempts illustrate the difficulty of re‑using the built‑in vector system for arbitrary SVG content.

5. IconFont (SVG‑to‑font) technique

IconFont converts a collection of SVG icons into a TrueType font (TTF). After uploading SVGs to the iconfont.cn website and downloading the generated font, you place the .ttf file in assets/ and reference the glyphs via their Unicode codes in a TextView:

<TextView
    android:id="@+id/cjf_ttf"
    android:layout_width="300dp"
    android:layout_height="200dp"
    android:gravity="top|center_horizontal"
    android:textSize="30sp"
    android:text="眼镜：
红包：" />

Typeface tf = Typeface.createFromAsset(getAssets(), "iconfont.ttf");
textView.setTypeface(tf);

This method provides resolution‑independent icons that can be styled like regular text, but it is limited to simple glyph shapes and cannot represent complex SVG features such as gradients.

6. Summary of Android vector solutions

VectorDrawable – native, simple tags, best for static icons.

AndroidSVG – full SVG 1.1 support, slower than VectorDrawable, works well with Glide for remote SVGs.

IconFont – treats SVG icons as font glyphs, ideal for UI icons, no complex graphics.

AnimatedVectorDrawable – built‑in Android animation, limited to property animation.

PathView – adds path‑length animation on top of AndroidSVG, very simple animation.

Lottie – supports complex After Effects animations, larger payload and higher runtime cost.

Choosing the right solution depends on the required visual complexity, animation needs, and performance constraints. For simple static icons, VectorDrawable or IconFont are sufficient; for rich graphics without animation, AndroidSVG is appropriate; for animated content, consider PathView for basic path draws or Lottie for sophisticated animations.