diff --git a/clients/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml b/clients/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
index 4cadcfb..6edf87d 100644
--- a/clients/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
+++ b/clients/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
@@ -27,8 +27,15 @@
     <uses-feature android:name="android.software.leanback" android:required="false" />
     <uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.gamepad" android:required="false" />
 
+    <!-- appCategory="game": a game-streaming client IS a game as far as the SoC is concerned.
+         On Snapdragon devices (and other OEMs with a Game Mode / Game Dashboard) this makes the app
+         eligible for the vendor's game performance profile — the aggressive CPU/GPU governor and
+         scheduler treatment games get — which, together with the ADPF hints in the native decode
+         path, is what keeps clocks up for low, consistent decode latency. Also groups it correctly
+         under Games in battery/data usage. Advisory: devices without Game Mode ignore it. -->
     <application
         android:allowBackup="false"
+        android:appCategory="game"
         android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
         android:roundIcon="@mipmap/ic_launcher_round"
         android:label="@string/app_name"
diff --git a/clients/android/native/src/adpf.rs b/clients/android/native/src/adpf.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9b561ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/clients/android/native/src/adpf.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,137 @@
+//! Android Adaptive Performance Framework (ADPF) — CPU performance hints for the decode thread.
+//!
+//! ADPF lets a latency-critical app tell the platform "these threads run a repeating workload with
+//! this per-cycle deadline, and here's how long they *actually* took." The kernel's CPU governor
+//! (on Qualcomm Snapdragon in particular — its ADPF backend is among the most responsive) then keeps
+//! those threads on the fast cores at high clocks instead of migrating them to a little core or
+//! down-clocking between frames. For a stream client the win is on the in-process hot path we
+//! control — the `pf-decode` feed/drain/present loop — *not* the hardware codec itself (that decodes
+//! in the mediacodec service, a separate process we can't hint); keeping our loop from being
+//! scheduled late directly trims the jitter between "AU received" and "buffer released to the
+//! Surface." It complements the codec-side `operating-rate`/`priority` hints, which push the codec's
+//! own clocks.
+//!
+//! The `APerformanceHint_*` API arrived in NDK **API level 33**. minSdk is 31, so we CANNOT link the
+//! symbols directly: a `libpunktfunk_android.so` carrying an unresolved
+//! `APerformanceHint_createSession` import fails to load on API 31/32 devices
+//! (`System.loadLibrary` throws) even if the code path is never taken. Instead we resolve the
+//! entry points from `libandroid.so` with `dlsym` at runtime — absent on < 33 ⇒
+//! [`HintSession::create`] returns `None` and the decode loop simply runs without hints.
+
+use std::ffi::c_void;
+use std::os::raw::c_int;
+
+// `APerformanceHint_*` function-pointer types. The manager/session handles are opaque, so we treat
+// them as `*mut c_void`.
+type GetManagerFn = unsafe extern "C" fn() -> *mut c_void;
+type CreateSessionFn = unsafe extern "C" fn(*mut c_void, *const i32, usize, i64) -> *mut c_void;
+type ReportFn = unsafe extern "C" fn(*mut c_void, i64) -> c_int;
+type UpdateTargetFn = unsafe extern "C" fn(*mut c_void, i64) -> c_int;
+type CloseFn = unsafe extern "C" fn(*mut c_void);
+
+/// The entry points we use, resolved once from `libandroid.so`, plus the process-wide manager.
+struct Api {
+    create_session: CreateSessionFn,
+    report: ReportFn,
+    update_target: UpdateTargetFn,
+    close: CloseFn,
+    manager: *mut c_void,
+}
+
+/// Resolve the ADPF entry points + the process manager, or `None` on API < 33 (symbols absent) or if
+/// the manager is unavailable.
+fn resolve_api() -> Option<Api> {
+    // SAFETY: `dlopen` of an always-present system library with a NUL-terminated name; it returns
+    // null on failure (checked below). `libandroid.so` is already mapped into every app process, so
+    // this only bumps its refcount — we intentionally never `dlclose` (process-lifetime handle).
+    let lib = unsafe { libc::dlopen(c"libandroid.so".as_ptr(), libc::RTLD_NOW) };
+    if lib.is_null() {
+        return None;
+    }
+    // SAFETY: `dlsym` on the valid handle above with NUL-terminated symbol names; each returns null
+    // when the symbol is absent (device API < 33), which we check before transmuting the non-null
+    // pointer to its fn-pointer type (layout-compatible; a resolved symbol is a valid code address).
+    unsafe {
+        let get_manager = libc::dlsym(lib, c"APerformanceHint_getManager".as_ptr());
+        let create_session = libc::dlsym(lib, c"APerformanceHint_createSession".as_ptr());
+        let report = libc::dlsym(lib, c"APerformanceHint_reportActualWorkDuration".as_ptr());
+        let update_target = libc::dlsym(lib, c"APerformanceHint_updateTargetWorkDuration".as_ptr());
+        let close = libc::dlsym(lib, c"APerformanceHint_closeSession".as_ptr());
+        if get_manager.is_null()
+            || create_session.is_null()
+            || report.is_null()
+            || update_target.is_null()
+            || close.is_null()
+        {
+            return None; // device API < 33 — no ADPF
+        }
+        let get_manager = std::mem::transmute::<*mut c_void, GetManagerFn>(get_manager);
+        let manager = get_manager();
+        if manager.is_null() {
+            return None;
+        }
+        Some(Api {
+            create_session: std::mem::transmute::<*mut c_void, CreateSessionFn>(create_session),
+            report: std::mem::transmute::<*mut c_void, ReportFn>(report),
+            update_target: std::mem::transmute::<*mut c_void, UpdateTargetFn>(update_target),
+            close: std::mem::transmute::<*mut c_void, CloseFn>(close),
+            manager,
+        })
+    }
+}
+
+/// A live ADPF hint session bound to a set of thread ids. Dropping it closes the session. Holds raw
+/// handles, so it is `!Send`/`!Sync` — created and used only on the `pf-decode` thread.
+pub struct HintSession {
+    api: Api,
+    session: *mut c_void,
+}
+
+impl HintSession {
+    /// Open a session hinting `tids` with an initial per-frame target of `target_ns` nanoseconds.
+    /// `None` when ADPF is unavailable (device API < 33) or the platform declines — the caller then
+    /// runs unhinted (a no-op, not an error).
+    pub fn create(target_ns: i64, tids: &[i32]) -> Option<Self> {
+        if target_ns <= 0 || tids.is_empty() {
+            return None;
+        }
+        let api = resolve_api()?;
+        // SAFETY: `api.manager` is the live process manager returned above; `tids` is a valid slice
+        // of `len` i32s that `createSession` copies; it returns null on failure (checked).
+        let session =
+            unsafe { (api.create_session)(api.manager, tids.as_ptr(), tids.len(), target_ns) };
+        if session.is_null() {
+            return None;
+        }
+        Some(Self { api, session })
+    }
+
+    /// Report the wall-clock time the hinted thread spent producing the last displayed frame. When
+    /// it exceeds the session target the governor boosts the cores running the thread; when it
+    /// stays under, clocks may relax. No-op on a non-positive duration (the API rejects it).
+    pub fn report_actual(&self, actual_ns: i64) {
+        if actual_ns <= 0 {
+            return;
+        }
+        // SAFETY: `self.session` is a live session for `self`'s lifetime.
+        unsafe { (self.api.report)(self.session, actual_ns) };
+    }
+
+    /// Update the per-frame target (e.g. after a mid-session refresh-rate change). Unused today —
+    /// the decode thread restarts on renegotiation — but kept for that path.
+    #[allow(dead_code)]
+    pub fn update_target(&self, target_ns: i64) {
+        if target_ns <= 0 {
+            return;
+        }
+        // SAFETY: `self.session` is a live session for `self`'s lifetime.
+        unsafe { (self.api.update_target)(self.session, target_ns) };
+    }
+}
+
+impl Drop for HintSession {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        // SAFETY: `self.session` was created by `createSession` and is closed exactly once, here.
+        unsafe { (self.api.close)(self.session) };
+    }
+}
diff --git a/clients/android/native/src/audio.rs b/clients/android/native/src/audio.rs
index e700adf..0c6b3e3 100644
--- a/clients/android/native/src/audio.rs
+++ b/clients/android/native/src/audio.rs
@@ -324,6 +324,10 @@ fn decode_loop(
     counters: Arc<Counters>,
     channels: usize,
 ) {
+    // Fold this Opus→AAudio thread into the client's hot-thread set so the ADPF session the decode
+    // thread opens also keeps audio decode on a fast core (registered before the video pump's first
+    // frame arrives, so it's captured when that session is created). No-op below API 33.
+    client.register_hot_thread();
     // Interleaved f32 samples per millisecond at this layout — the ring's 5 ms reserve check below.
     let ms = (SAMPLE_RATE as usize / 1000) * channels;
     // Opus decode scratch: worst-case 120 ms frame (5760 samples/ch) × channels.
diff --git a/clients/android/native/src/decode.rs b/clients/android/native/src/decode.rs
index 21e030c..81bc009 100644
--- a/clients/android/native/src/decode.rs
+++ b/clients/android/native/src/decode.rs
@@ -61,7 +61,14 @@ pub fn run(
     // realtime priority + the target frame rate, so vendor decoders (e.g. Qualcomm) run at full
     // clocks instead of a power-saving cadence that adds dequeue latency.
     format.set_i32("priority", 0); // 0 = realtime
-    format.set_i32("operating-rate", mode.refresh_hz as i32);
+                                   // Operating rate = the codec's clock hint. Setting it to the display rate merely asks the
+                                   // decoder to *sustain* that cadence — a Qualcomm decoder can meet 60/120 fps at a power-saving
+                                   // clock that adds a millisecond-plus of decode latency per frame. Setting it to the AOSP
+                                   // "unbounded" sentinel (Short.MAX) instead asks the decoder to run each frame at max clocks and
+                                   // finish ASAP, minimising per-frame decode latency — the right trade for a real-time stream
+                                   // (costs power/heat; the dial to lower if a device thermally throttles over a long session).
+                                   // Ignored where unsupported.
+    format.set_i32("operating-rate", i16::MAX as i32); // 32767 = "as fast as possible"
 
     // HDR static metadata (ST.2086 mastering + content light level): when an HDR session was
     // negotiated, set KEY_HDR_STATIC_INFO so the display tone-maps from the source's real grade.
@@ -104,6 +111,25 @@ pub fn run(
         );
     }
 
+    // ADPF: hint the platform that the whole video pipeline — this pf-decode feed/drain/present
+    // loop, the core's data-plane pump (UDP receive + FEC reassembly), and the audio thread — runs a
+    // per-frame real-time workload, so the CPU governor keeps those threads on fast cores at high
+    // clocks instead of down-clocking between frames or parking them on a little core. Snapdragon's
+    // ADPF backend responds well to this. We register this thread now but create the session lazily
+    // on the first presented frame: by then the pump + audio threads have registered their ids too,
+    // and ADPF `createSession` rejects a set with any not-yet-live/dead tid. No-op below API 33.
+    let frame_period_ns = if mode.refresh_hz > 0 {
+        1_000_000_000i64 / mode.refresh_hz as i64
+    } else {
+        0
+    };
+    client.register_hot_thread(); // this decode thread → the pipeline's hot-thread set
+    let mut hint: Option<crate::adpf::HintSession> = None;
+    let mut hint_tried = false;
+    // Accumulates the loop's productive (feed+drain) time between displayed frames; reported to ADPF
+    // once per rendered frame against the frame-period target.
+    let mut work_accum_ns: i64 = 0;
+
     let mut fed: u64 = 0;
     let mut rendered: u64 = 0;
     let mut discarded: u64 = 0;
@@ -154,6 +180,9 @@ pub fn run(
                 Err(_) => break,                   // session closed
             }
         }
+        // Time the productive work (feed + drain) only — the `next_frame` poll wait above is idle
+        // and excluded, so ADPF sees this thread's real per-frame CPU cost, not the poll timeout.
+        let work_t0 = Instant::now();
         if let Some(frame) = pending.take() {
             if feed(&codec, &frame.data, frame.pts_ns / 1000) {
                 fed += 1;
@@ -177,6 +206,36 @@ pub fn run(
         rendered += r;
         discarded += d;
 
+        // ADPF: attribute this iteration's feed+drain time to the frame being produced, and report
+        // the accumulated per-frame work once one is actually presented (r > 0). Under back-pressure
+        // the short output-dequeue wait is included in the tally — for a latency-first client,
+        // biasing the governor toward "boost" is the desired behaviour. Cheap when `hint` is None
+        // (one `Instant` diff, no report).
+        work_accum_ns += work_t0.elapsed().as_nanos() as i64;
+        if r > 0 {
+            if !hint_tried {
+                // First presented frame: the pump + audio threads have registered their ids by now.
+                // Build one ADPF session over the whole pipeline's thread set (empty below API 33,
+                // or where the platform declines → `None`, and the loop runs unhinted).
+                hint_tried = true;
+                let tids = client.hot_thread_ids();
+                hint = crate::adpf::HintSession::create(frame_period_ns, &tids);
+                log::info!(
+                    "decode: ADPF hint session {} — {} hot thread(s), target {frame_period_ns} ns",
+                    if hint.is_some() {
+                        "active"
+                    } else {
+                        "unavailable"
+                    },
+                    tids.len(),
+                );
+            }
+            if let Some(h) = &hint {
+                h.report_actual(work_accum_ns);
+            }
+            work_accum_ns = 0;
+        }
+
         // Loss recovery: under infinite GOP the only recovery keyframe is one we request. The
         // reassembler drops unrecoverable AUs (frames_dropped); the decoder then conceals the
         // reference-missing delta frames that follow and renders them without error, so keying off
diff --git a/clients/android/native/src/lib.rs b/clients/android/native/src/lib.rs
index a3594b6..7efba50 100644
--- a/clients/android/native/src/lib.rs
+++ b/clients/android/native/src/lib.rs
@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@ use jni::objects::JObject;
 use jni::sys::jint;
 use jni::JNIEnv;
 
+#[cfg(target_os = "android")]
+mod adpf;
 #[cfg(target_os = "android")]
 mod audio;
 #[cfg(target_os = "android")]
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-core/src/client.rs b/crates/punktfunk-core/src/client.rs
index 396118a..cc5a123 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-core/src/client.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-core/src/client.rs
@@ -176,6 +176,12 @@ pub struct NativeClient {
     /// a recovery keyframe under infinite GOP — the correct loss trigger, since unrecoverable loss
     /// yields reference-missing frames the decoder silently conceals (a decode-error trigger misses them).
     frames_dropped: Arc<AtomicU64>,
+    /// Kernel ids of the client's latency-critical native threads: the internal data-plane pump
+    /// (UDP receive + FEC reassembly) plus any embedder plane threads registered via
+    /// [`NativeClient::register_hot_thread`]. The Android client feeds these to an ADPF hint session
+    /// so the CPU governor keeps the whole video pipeline on fast cores. Empty on platforms without
+    /// `gettid` (see [`current_hot_tid`]).
+    hot_tids: Arc<Mutex<Vec<i32>>>,
     worker: Option<std::thread::JoinHandle<()>>,
     /// The currently active session mode (the Welcome's, then updated by every accepted
     /// [`NativeClient::request_mode`]).
@@ -242,6 +248,32 @@ fn pin_thread_user_interactive() {
 #[cfg(not(target_vendor = "apple"))]
 fn pin_thread_user_interactive() {}
 
+/// The calling thread's kernel id, for hot-thread performance hints (the Android client's ADPF
+/// session today; the consumer is platform-specific). Linux/Android expose `gettid`; elsewhere
+/// there's nothing to hint with, so registration is a no-op.
+#[cfg(any(target_os = "android", target_os = "linux"))]
+fn current_hot_tid() -> Option<i32> {
+    // SAFETY: `gettid` reads the calling thread's kernel id — an always-safe syscall, no args.
+    Some(unsafe { libc::gettid() })
+}
+#[cfg(not(any(target_os = "android", target_os = "linux")))]
+fn current_hot_tid() -> Option<i32> {
+    None
+}
+
+/// Record the calling thread's id in the shared hot-thread registry (deduped). Best-effort: a
+/// platform without `gettid` or a poisoned lock just skips it — a missed performance hint, not an
+/// error on the data path.
+fn register_hot_tid(reg: &Mutex<Vec<i32>>) {
+    if let Some(t) = current_hot_tid() {
+        if let Ok(mut v) = reg.lock() {
+            if !v.contains(&t) {
+                v.push(t);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 impl NativeClient {
     /// Connect to a `punktfunk/1` host and start the session at (up to) `mode`. Blocks until the
     /// handshake completes or `timeout` elapses.
@@ -292,12 +324,14 @@ impl NativeClient {
         let mode_slot = Arc::new(std::sync::Mutex::new(mode));
         let probe = Arc::new(Mutex::new(ProbeState::default()));
         let frames_dropped = Arc::new(AtomicU64::new(0));
+        let hot_tids = Arc::new(Mutex::new(Vec::new()));
 
         let host = host.to_string();
         let shutdown_w = shutdown.clone();
         let mode_slot_w = mode_slot.clone();
         let probe_w = probe.clone();
         let frames_dropped_w = frames_dropped.clone();
+        let hot_tids_w = hot_tids.clone();
         let ctrl_tx_pump = ctrl_tx.clone(); // the data-plane pump sends adaptive-FEC LossReports
         let worker = std::thread::Builder::new()
             .name("punktfunk-client".into())
@@ -346,6 +380,7 @@ impl NativeClient {
                     mode_slot: mode_slot_w,
                     probe: probe_w,
                     frames_dropped: frames_dropped_w,
+                    hot_tids: hot_tids_w,
                 }));
             })
             .map_err(PunktfunkError::Io)?;
@@ -385,6 +420,7 @@ impl NativeClient {
             shutdown,
             worker: Some(worker),
             frames_dropped,
+            hot_tids,
             mode: mode_slot,
             host_fingerprint: fingerprint,
             resolved_compositor,
@@ -526,6 +562,25 @@ impl NativeClient {
         self.frames_dropped.load(Ordering::Relaxed)
     }
 
+    /// Register the calling thread as latency-critical so a later
+    /// [`hot_thread_ids`](Self::hot_thread_ids) includes it. An embedder calls this from its own
+    /// plane threads (e.g. the Android client's decode + audio threads) to fold them into the same
+    /// performance-hint session as the internal data-plane pump. Idempotent per thread; a no-op on
+    /// platforms without `gettid`.
+    pub fn register_hot_thread(&self) {
+        register_hot_tid(&self.hot_tids);
+    }
+
+    /// Kernel ids of the client's latency-critical threads: the internal data-plane pump (UDP
+    /// receive + FEC reassembly) plus any registered via
+    /// [`register_hot_thread`](Self::register_hot_thread). The Android client feeds these to an ADPF
+    /// hint session so the CPU governor keeps the whole video pipeline on fast cores. Empty where
+    /// thread ids aren't available (platforms without `gettid`); call after the first frame so the
+    /// pump has registered.
+    pub fn hot_thread_ids(&self) -> Vec<i32> {
+        self.hot_tids.lock().map(|v| v.clone()).unwrap_or_default()
+    }
+
     /// Start a bandwidth speed test: ask the host to burst filler over the data plane at
     /// `target_kbps` of goodput for `duration_ms`, *briefly pausing video*. Non-blocking — the
     /// measurement accumulates in the background; poll [`NativeClient::probe_result`] until its
@@ -723,6 +778,7 @@ struct WorkerArgs {
     mode_slot: Arc<std::sync::Mutex<Mode>>,
     probe: Arc<Mutex<ProbeState>>,
     frames_dropped: Arc<AtomicU64>,
+    hot_tids: Arc<Mutex<Vec<i32>>>,
 }
 
 /// The worker: QUIC handshake, then the input/datagram/control tasks + the blocking
@@ -757,6 +813,7 @@ async fn worker_main(args: WorkerArgs) {
         mode_slot,
         probe,
         frames_dropped,
+        hot_tids,
     } = args;
     let setup = async {
         let remote: std::net::SocketAddr = format!("{host}:{port}")
@@ -1063,11 +1120,13 @@ async fn worker_main(args: WorkerArgs) {
     // decoder queue — it isn't video.
     let pump_shutdown = shutdown.clone();
     let pump_probe = probe.clone();
+    let pump_hot_tids = hot_tids.clone();
     let _ = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
         pin_thread_user_interactive(); // feeds frame_tx → the client's user-interactive video pump
-                                       // Adaptive-FEC loss reporting: every ADAPT_REPORT_INTERVAL, report the loss observed over the
-                                       // window (shards FEC recovered, plus a bump if any frame went unrecoverable) so the host can
-                                       // size FEC to the link. Suppressed during a speed test (its FLAG_PROBE filler would skew it).
+        register_hot_tid(&pump_hot_tids); // this thread does UDP receive + FEC reassembly — hint it
+                                          // Adaptive-FEC loss reporting: every ADAPT_REPORT_INTERVAL, report the loss observed over the
+                                          // window (shards FEC recovered, plus a bump if any frame went unrecoverable) so the host can
+                                          // size FEC to the link. Suppressed during a speed test (its FLAG_PROBE filler would skew it).
         const ADAPT_REPORT_INTERVAL: Duration = Duration::from_millis(750);
         let mut last_report = Instant::now();
         let (mut last_recovered, mut last_received, mut last_dropped) = (0u64, 0u64, 0u64);