6 ms·

Still doesn't solve the core problem with the Android emulator - performance. Android needs a "simulator", not an emulator running the entire stack. iOS handles

Still doesn't solve the core problem with the Android emulator - performance. Android needs a "simulator", not an emulator running the entire stack. iOS handles this wonderfully.

kllrnohj 8y ago
Performance with HAXM has been fantastic for a while. So no, it doesn't need a simulator. It doesn't need that at all. Android emulator has improved massively over the past few years, you might want to go take an actual look at it. Even has quite a few features missing from iOS's simulator, too, like camera scene emulation.
mjg59 8y ago
The Android "emulator" is using an x86 build of Android. Running the entire stack will increase memory use but should have no real impact on performance. Given that many people are running the emulator on non-Linux kernels (and this story is explicitly about doing so on Windows), how would a simulator work? (I work at Google, but not on Android)
- basementcat 8y ago
  Perhaps it is time for an Android Subsystem for Windows that is analogous to the Linux Subsystem for Windows 10.
  - Mic92 8y ago
    The Linux subsystem is still slower then a Linux running in Hyper-V because of the Syscall overhead.
  - opencl 8y ago
    Microsoft already wrote most of one (project Astoria) and shipped it in some early W10M builds but scrapped it seemingly shortly before it was done.
  - ahartmetz 8y ago
    In another HN discussion somebody claimed that WSL was developed from the Android emulator. It makes so much sense that I don't want to doubt it ;)
Mic92 8y ago
A simulator may have some advantages with respect to I/O and a bit less RAM. CPU-wise it should not make a big difference. There is also anbox that should be close to what a simulator would be: https://anbox.io/ https://anbox.io/
bitmapbrother 8y ago
>Still doesn't solve the core problem with the Android emulator - performance When was the last time you used the emulator?
- brokenmachine 8y ago
  I'm not OP, but I last used it a couple of years ago and it was pretty slow (I was using an i5-2500). Has it improved markedly recently, and if so, how?
  - bitmapbrother 8y ago
    It now uses Intel's HAXM on Windows to increase performance tremendously. It also allows for the saving of snapshots to launch the emulator almost instantly.
- asasas2321323 8y ago
  Android emulator on my Macbook eats 100% i5-7560 CPU, drain battery in a hour and scroll with touchpad does not work
the_trapper 8y ago
Honestly, I would say that with all of the recent improvements to the emulator over the past few years that Gradle is actually the sluggish, horrible part of the Android development experience. The emulator is actually pretty decent now.

Still doesn't solve the core problem with the Android emulator - performance. Android needs a "simulator", not an emulator running the entire stack. iOS handles this wonderfully.

kllrnohj 8y ago

Performance with HAXM has been fantastic for a while. So no, it doesn't need a simulator. It doesn't need that at all. Android emulator has improved massively over the past few years, you might want to go take an actual look at it. Even has quite a few features missing from iOS's simulator, too, like camera scene emulation.

mjg59 8y ago

The Android "emulator" is using an x86 build of Android. Running the entire stack will increase memory use but should have no real impact on performance. Given that many people are running the emulator on non-Linux kernels (and this story is explicitly about doing so on Windows), how would a simulator work? (I work at Google, but not on Android)

basementcat 8y ago
Perhaps it is time for an Android Subsystem for Windows that is analogous to the Linux Subsystem for Windows 10.
- Mic92 8y ago
  The Linux subsystem is still slower then a Linux running in Hyper-V because of the Syscall overhead.
- opencl 8y ago
  Microsoft already wrote most of one (project Astoria) and shipped it in some early W10M builds but scrapped it seemingly shortly before it was done.
- ahartmetz 8y ago
  In another HN discussion somebody claimed that WSL was developed from the Android emulator. It makes so much sense that I don't want to doubt it ;)

Mic92 8y ago

A simulator may have some advantages with respect to I/O and a bit less RAM. CPU-wise it should not make a big difference. There is also anbox that should be close to what a simulator would be: https://anbox.io/ https://anbox.io/

bitmapbrother 8y ago

>Still doesn't solve the core problem with the Android emulator - performance When was the last time you used the emulator?

brokenmachine 8y ago
I'm not OP, but I last used it a couple of years ago and it was pretty slow (I was using an i5-2500). Has it improved markedly recently, and if so, how?
- bitmapbrother 8y ago
  It now uses Intel's HAXM on Windows to increase performance tremendously. It also allows for the saving of snapshots to launch the emulator almost instantly.
asasas2321323 8y ago
Android emulator on my Macbook eats 100% i5-7560 CPU, drain battery in a hour and scroll with touchpad does not work

the_trapper 8y ago

Honestly, I would say that with all of the recent improvements to the emulator over the past few years that Gradle is actually the sluggish, horrible part of the Android development experience. The emulator is actually pretty decent now.