I've been reading up on why Unity builds get so big, and the first thing I had to unlearn was the obvious move: build too big, so go re-save the art as smaller files.
Turns out that barely does anything. Unity re-codes imported assets into its own formats, so the source file type doesn't matter. The Unity manual literally uses this example: saving a layered .psd as a .png makes no difference to the build.
(Lowering the resolution is a different story, that one does count.)
Two other things I didn't know:
The Editor log already shows what's big. After a build, open the Console, click the ⋮ menu, Open Editor Log. You get a size breakdown by asset type and then every asset sorted by size. Seems like the place to start before touching any settings.
And "build size" isn't one number. The Editor log report, the APK/AAB on your disk, and the download size on Google Play are all measuring different things. Players get a device-specific APK built from your bundle, so it's smaller than what you upload. Easy to compare the wrong two numbers and think nothing changed.
There's more (Resources folder, compression settings, code stripping, Play Asset Delivery). I wrote it all up with tables and links to the docs here if you want the longer version: How to Reduce Unity Game Size
What was the biggest thing in your build when you first checked the log?
(I used AI to help me write this up in English.)
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