4 ms·

Quality of the basics matters. Folks like to say they don’t need a fast processor, because all they do is browse the web. If you open the messages app and brow

by n8cpdx 5y ago

Quality of the basics matters. Folks like to say they don’t need a fast processor, because all they do is browse the web. If you open the messages app and browser 50x per day (which seems like a conservative estimate) and load the maps app a few times a week, the speed differential between devices adds up. Personally, I find the annoyance factor more bothersome than the raw hours of wasted human lifetime. Side by side, my iPhone 12 takes several seconds less to open Firefox than pixel 4. 1.5 seconds faster to open Slack. 5s faster to launch Sonos. 5s faster launching The Economist. 0.5s faster launching phone. 4s faster launching Spotify. This is with iPhone running several other apps, android idling with no background apps. Recent phone launches look boring, but getting the basics right absolutely matters. I was hoping Tensor would bring iPhone level performance, but we may have to wait a few years, since they’re only focusing on AI, which iPhone already does quite well. Personally, I think it is totally valid to count performance and quality as features. Imagine if instead of performance, there was a feature where the phone cut your need for sleep by 5 minutes a day, or cut 5 minutes off your commute, or dropped your cortisol levels x%. Or shortened your wait for the elevator/grocery store by 5 minutes. That’s ultimately what performance means - time saved from the pure waste of waiting for apps and content to load. Edit: to clarify, this isn’t iPhone elitism. I absolutely believe android users deserve best in class hardware. It is a shame that the vast majority of phone users are having their time stolen from them by Android and Qualcomm. I really wish I had the option of switching to android but I’m just not willing to tolerate it anymore; I have these devices side by side because I just gave up on my post-CSAM scanning switch after two months.

throwaway4220 5y ago
Slow phone here - It’s not a bug it’s a feature for my muscle memory safari-> news.y… habit lol
bschwindHN 5y ago
It's kind of sad too, because any phone built in the last 5 years should be able to launch apps nearly instantly. As always, software gets slower and then hardware has to improve to bring latencies back to where we started.
koyote 5y ago
I agree with your premise that speed makes a difference and should not be ignored, but your conclusion about android seems a bit off. The pixel 4 is older and much more of a budget device compared to the iphone 12, I am not sure why you are comparing the two. That being said, my even older oneplus 6t takes around 200ms to open Firefox so I am not sure what is wrong with your pixel 4. Same on my partner's pixel 4a (which should be even slower).
- petersellers 5y ago
  > The pixel 4 is older and much more of a budget device compared to the iphone 12, I am not sure why you are comparing the two. The Pixel 4 and the iPhone 12 both MSRP'd at $799 when they were released. Not sure how the Pixel is considered "much more of a budget device" in comparison. Technically the iPhone 12 mini is $100 cheaper than either of those, with the same basic hardware as the larger 12.
feanaro 5y ago
> Side by side, my iPhone 12 takes several seconds less to open Firefox than pixel 4. It takes seconds for your phones to open Firefox?! My Xiaomi Mi A3 opens it without a noticeable delay.
- pja 5y ago
  My Pixel 4a opens Firefox in ~ a second from a cold start. I’d have to film it to get an accurate figure, but it’s definitely not multiple seconds. Maybe they’re opening a very Javascript heavy homepage (and what site isn’t Javascript heavy in the modern ad-laden world?) and is including the download & render time in that measurement?
  - n8cpdx 5y ago
    Test was closed all apps, launched Firefox, and waited for it to complete loading news.ycombinator.com. iPhone and pixel were on the same network. Just showing the app filling the viewport isn’t fair because iOS and android handle splash screens differently. All of my side-by-side comparisons are waiting until the initial load completes. I am running grapheneOS, so slightly different, and you might say that’s unfair. I’d expect a distro without the bloat to perform better, but it does have extra hardening to try to get closer to an iOS level of security. I do consider that a fair comparison, since that is the bare minimum you need to trust the device. Looking at the network traffic of an android device really gives one goosebumps, even in the best of circumstances.
    - pja 5y ago
      Well, you’re not exactly comparing like to like then, are you? Graphene OS is optimised for other things than raw speed. Fwiw, I’ve just filmed my 4a at 60Hz & imported the video in a non-linear editor & it takes 2.1s to go from a tap on the icon to displaying the HN homepage. It takes 0.7s for curl to load the HN homepage (compression on, but ignoring CSS & images) on the same network.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

by n8cpdx 5y ago

throwaway4220 5y ago

Slow phone here - It’s not a bug it’s a feature for my muscle memory safari-> news.y… habit lol

bschwindHN 5y ago

It's kind of sad too, because any phone built in the last 5 years should be able to launch apps nearly instantly. As always, software gets slower and then hardware has to improve to bring latencies back to where we started.

koyote 5y ago

I agree with your premise that speed makes a difference and should not be ignored, but your conclusion about android seems a bit off. The pixel 4 is older and much more of a budget device compared to the iphone 12, I am not sure why you are comparing the two. That being said, my even older oneplus 6t takes around 200ms to open Firefox so I am not sure what is wrong with your pixel 4. Same on my partner's pixel 4a (which should be even slower).

petersellers 5y ago
> The pixel 4 is older and much more of a budget device compared to the iphone 12, I am not sure why you are comparing the two. The Pixel 4 and the iPhone 12 both MSRP'd at $799 when they were released. Not sure how the Pixel is considered "much more of a budget device" in comparison. Technically the iPhone 12 mini is $100 cheaper than either of those, with the same basic hardware as the larger 12.

feanaro 5y ago

> Side by side, my iPhone 12 takes several seconds less to open Firefox than pixel 4. It takes seconds for your phones to open Firefox?! My Xiaomi Mi A3 opens it without a noticeable delay.

pja 5y ago
My Pixel 4a opens Firefox in ~ a second from a cold start. I’d have to film it to get an accurate figure, but it’s definitely not multiple seconds. Maybe they’re opening a very Javascript heavy homepage (and what site isn’t Javascript heavy in the modern ad-laden world?) and is including the download & render time in that measurement?
- n8cpdx 5y ago
  Test was closed all apps, launched Firefox, and waited for it to complete loading news.ycombinator.com. iPhone and pixel were on the same network. Just showing the app filling the viewport isn’t fair because iOS and android handle splash screens differently. All of my side-by-side comparisons are waiting until the initial load completes. I am running grapheneOS, so slightly different, and you might say that’s unfair. I’d expect a distro without the bloat to perform better, but it does have extra hardening to try to get closer to an iOS level of security. I do consider that a fair comparison, since that is the bare minimum you need to trust the device. Looking at the network traffic of an android device really gives one goosebumps, even in the best of circumstances.
  - pja 5y ago
    Well, you’re not exactly comparing like to like then, are you? Graphene OS is optimised for other things than raw speed. Fwiw, I’ve just filmed my 4a at 60Hz & imported the video in a non-linear editor & it takes 2.1s to go from a tap on the icon to displaying the HN homepage. It takes 0.7s for curl to load the HN homepage (compression on, but ignoring CSS & images) on the same network.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]