When updating data in a RecyclerView or ListView adapter, developers may observe visual flickering during refreshes, degrading user experience. This issue typically arises from excessive or rapid UI redraws triggered by full dataset updates.

To address this, implement efficient update strategies:

Leverage DiffUtil for Efficient Data Comparision

DiffUtil compares old and new datasets efficiently, calculating only the necessary changes. This minimizes unneecssary view rebinds and reduces rendering overhead.

public class DataAdapter extends RecyclerView.Adapter<DataAdapter.ViewHolder> {
    private List<String> items;

    public void updateData(List<String> newItems) {
        DiffUtil.DiffResult result = DiffUtil.calculateDiff(new DataDiffCallback(items, newItems));
        items = newItems;
        result.dispatchUpdatesTo(this);
    }

    static class DataDiffCallback extends DiffUtil.Callback {
        private final List<String> oldList;
        private final List<String> newList;

        DataDiffCallback(List<String> oldList, List<String> newList) {
            this.oldList = oldList;
            this.newList = newList;
        }

        @Override
        public int getOldListSize() {
            return oldList.size();
        }

        @Override
        public int getNewListSize() {
            return newList.size();
        }

        @Override
        public boolean areItemsTheSame(int oldItemPosition, int newItemPosition) {
            return oldList.get(oldItemPosition).equals(newList.get(newItemPosition));
        }

        @Override
        public boolean areContentsTheSame(int oldItemPosition, int newItemPosition) {
            return oldList.get(oldItemPosition).equals(newList.get(newItemPosition));
        }
    }

    static class ViewHolder extends RecyclerView.ViewHolder {
        TextView textView;

        ViewHolder(View itemView) {
            super(itemView);
            textView = itemView.findViewById(R.id.text_view);
        }
    }
}

Perform Local Updates Instead of Full Refresh

Avoid notifyDataSetChanged() unless absolutely necessary. Use targeted methods like notifyItemChanged(), notifyItemInserted(), or notifyItemRemoved() to update only affected items.

public void modifyItem(int index, String updatedValue) {
    items.set(index, updatedValue);
    notifyItemChanged(index);
}

Apply Throttling with Handler

For high-frequency updates, delay the refresh using a Handler to batch multiple changes. This prevents frequent redraws caused by rapid input.

private final Handler handler = new Handler();
private final Runnable refreshTask = () -> {
    // Trigger actual data refresh here
};

public void queueUpdate(List<String> newData) {
    handler.removeCallbacks(refreshTask);
    handler.postDelayed(refreshTask, 300); // Delay by 300ms
}

By combining these techniques—DiffUtil for precise change detection, local notifications for minimal impact, and throttling for high-update scenarios—you can achieve smooth, flicker-free list updates in Android applications.