diff --git a/library/src/main/java/com/davemorrissey/labs/subscaleview/SubsamplingScaleImageView.java b/library/src/main/java/com/davemorrissey/labs/subscaleview/SubsamplingScaleImageView.java
index 1303d137..8ee1e987 100755
--- a/library/src/main/java/com/davemorrissey/labs/subscaleview/SubsamplingScaleImageView.java
+++ b/library/src/main/java/com/davemorrissey/labs/subscaleview/SubsamplingScaleImageView.java
@@ -171,6 +171,8 @@ public class SubsamplingScaleImageView extends View {
     private int minimumScaleType = SCALE_TYPE_CENTER_INSIDE;
     // Whether to crop borders.
     private boolean cropBorders = false;
+    // Whether to decode to hardware bitmap
+    private boolean hardwareConfig = true;
     private int maxTileWidth = TILE_SIZE_AUTO;
     private int maxTileHeight = TILE_SIZE_AUTO;
     // An executor service for loading of images
@@ -1541,6 +1543,15 @@ public void setCropBorders(boolean cropBorders) {
         this.cropBorders = cropBorders;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Set if we want to use hardware bitmap config for decoded bitmap regions.
+     *
+     * @param hardwareConfig Whether to use hardware bitmap config.
+     */
+    public void setHardwareConfig(boolean hardwareConfig) {
+        this.hardwareConfig = hardwareConfig;
+    }
+
     /**
      * By default the View automatically calculates the optimal tile size. Set this to override this, and force an upper limit to the dimensions of the generated tiles. Passing {@link #TILE_SIZE_AUTO} will re-enable the default behaviour.
      *
@@ -2760,7 +2771,7 @@ protected int[] doInBackground(Void... params) {
                 InputProvider provider = providerRef.get();
                 if (context != null && view != null && provider == view.provider) {
                     view.debug("TilesInitTask.doInBackground");
-                    decoder = new Decoder(view.cropBorders, view.displayProfile.toByteArray());
+                    decoder = new Decoder(view.cropBorders, view.hardwareConfig, view.displayProfile.toByteArray());
                     Point dimensions = decoder.init(context, provider);
                     int sWidth = dimensions.x;
                     int sHeight = dimensions.y;
diff --git a/library/src/main/java/com/davemorrissey/labs/subscaleview/decoder/Decoder.kt b/library/src/main/java/com/davemorrissey/labs/subscaleview/decoder/Decoder.kt
index 85e375e4..bba57a4f 100755
--- a/library/src/main/java/com/davemorrissey/labs/subscaleview/decoder/Decoder.kt
+++ b/library/src/main/java/com/davemorrissey/labs/subscaleview/decoder/Decoder.kt
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import tachiyomi.decoder.ImageDecoder.Companion.newInstance
 
 class Decoder(
     private val cropBorders: Boolean,
+    private val hardwareConfig: Boolean,
     private val displayProfile: ByteArray,
 ) : ImageRegionDecoder {
 
@@ -53,11 +54,16 @@ class Decoder(
      * @return The decoded region. It is safe to return null if decoding fails.
      */
     override fun decodeRegion(sRect: Rect, sampleSize: Int): Bitmap {
-        val bitmap = decoder?.decode(sRect, sampleSize)
-        if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= 26) {
-            bitmap?.copy(Bitmap.Config.HARDWARE, false)?.let { return it; }
+        var bitmap = decoder?.decode(sRect, sampleSize)
+        check(bitmap != null) { "Failed to decode region" }
+        if (hardwareConfig && Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= 26) {
+            val hwBitmap = bitmap.copy(Bitmap.Config.HARDWARE, false)
+            if (hwBitmap != null) {
+                bitmap.recycle()
+                bitmap = hwBitmap
+            }
         }
-        return bitmap ?: error("Null region bitmap")
+        return bitmap
     }
 
     /**