The problem isn't Google's code. The problem is that the open-source ecosystem has standardized on a as the default. We need better documentation for "embedded" or "minimal" profiles.
./configure --size-limit=640x480 --enable-small --enable-small trades speed for size. It disables loopfilter optimizations and reduces memory overhead. For embedded decoding, this is often invisible to the user. Yes and no. bloat libvpx
From the perspective of an IoT developer with 32 MB of total flash storage: The default libvpx is a nightmare of redundant symbol tables and CPU dispatchers that will never fire on their hardware. The problem isn't Google's code