diff --git a/core/jni/android/graphics/BitmapFactory.cpp b/core/jni/android/graphics/BitmapFactory.cpp
index 65f6845..9965fe5 100644
--- a/core/jni/android/graphics/BitmapFactory.cpp
+++ b/core/jni/android/graphics/BitmapFactory.cpp
@@ -645,6 +645,23 @@
     return chunkObject;
 }
 
+static void nativeSetDefaultConfig(JNIEnv* env, jobject, int nativeConfig) {
+    SkBitmap::Config config = static_cast<SkBitmap::Config>(nativeConfig);
+
+    // these are the only default configs that make sense for codecs right now
+    static const SkBitmap::Config gValidDefConfig[] = {
+        SkBitmap::kRGB_565_Config,
+        SkBitmap::kARGB_8888_Config,
+    };
+
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < SK_ARRAY_COUNT(gValidDefConfig); i++) {
+        if (config == gValidDefConfig[i]) {
+            SkImageDecoder::SetDeviceConfig(config);
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 
 static JNINativeMethod gMethods[] = {
@@ -671,8 +688,9 @@
     {   "nativeScaleNinePatch",
         "([BFLandroid/graphics/Rect;)[B",
         (void*)nativeScaleNinePatch
-    }
+    },
 
+    {   "nativeSetDefaultConfig", "(I)V", (void*)nativeSetDefaultConfig },
 };
 
 static JNINativeMethod gOptionsMethods[] = {
diff --git a/graphics/java/android/graphics/BitmapFactory.java b/graphics/java/android/graphics/BitmapFactory.java
index 3c03eed..2313f4c 100644
--- a/graphics/java/android/graphics/BitmapFactory.java
+++ b/graphics/java/android/graphics/BitmapFactory.java
@@ -558,6 +558,30 @@
         return decodeFileDescriptor(fd, null, null);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Set the default config used for decoding bitmaps. This config is
+     * presented to the codec if the caller did not specify a preferred config
+     * in their call to decode...
+     *
+     * The default value is chosen by the system to best match the device's
+     * screen and memory constraints.
+     *
+     * @param config The preferred config for decoding bitmaps. If null, then
+     *               a suitable default is chosen by the system.
+     *
+     * @hide - only called by the browser at the moment, but should be stable
+     *   enough to expose if needed
+     */
+    public static void setDefaultConfig(Bitmap.Config config) {
+        if (config == null) {
+            // pick this for now, as historically it was our default.
+            // However, if we have a smarter algorithm, we can change this.
+            config = Bitmap.Config.RGB_565;
+        }
+        nativeSetDefaultConfig(config.nativeInt);
+    }
+
+    private static native void nativeSetDefaultConfig(int nativeConfig);
     private static native Bitmap nativeDecodeStream(InputStream is, byte[] storage,
             Rect padding, Options opts);
     private static native Bitmap nativeDecodeFileDescriptor(FileDescriptor fd,