5 ms·

>It appears to me that this article is trying a little bit too hard to paper over the poor UI performance of Android compared to iOS or WP7, and making up excus

by jan_g 15y ago

>It appears to me that this article is trying a little bit too hard to paper over the poor UI performance of Android compared to iOS or WP7, and making up excuses for less than optimal drawing performance. I'm surprised that many people are still bashing UI responsiveness/performance. I've held and played with many devices (including, but not limited to, iphone 3 and 4) and I can't really say what's bothering so many people. For me, every android device that I've used in the last 2 years feels fast and responsive. I'll just go out and say that it's a non-issue for mainstream user.

mgkimsal 15y ago
"I'll just go out and say that it's a non-issue for mainstream user." Might also be why the "mainstream" is primarily using Apple iPads/iPods/iPhones vs the myriad of Android devices available. What bothers people is that when you swipe from screen 1 to screen 2, there can be a > .5 second delay. It doesn't feel remotely "natural" for something that you're physically touching and supposedly interacting with.
- jan_g 15y ago
  >Might also be why the "mainstream" is primarily using Apple iPads/iPods/iPhones I don't believe the reason for that is UI responsiveness (also, I don't agree with your 'primarily' assessment, but let's not chew on that). In my opinion, the differences are so small that UI performance just isn't an issue. There are other areas where iDevices are noticeably better compared to every competing device. >What bothers people is that when you swipe from screen 1 to screen 2, there can be a > .5 second delay Hm, I don't remember that ever happening to me in the last ~2 years with two devices that I've used most: nexus one and motorola defy. But ok, I grant you that it can happen. So what? I've also seen an iPhone freeze completely.
  - bethling 15y ago
    For me, the UI performance is the single biggest reason why I don't use Android as my primary phone. No matter how fast the underlying action is, the jumpiness and occasional lagginess makes it feel slow to me. It frustrates me - there's so much I like about the OS that so many good things can be erased by leaving the visible perception of being slow.
  - mgkimsal 15y ago
    This has got to be mostly a perception problem, because it's all I ever notice when using any Android device. Swipe/scroll lag has always been noticeable for me. And yes, iPhones do crash/break/jitter, but it's by far a very small percentage of the time compared to how often they're used. As for a "reason" for people using Android: most of the people I know who use Android-based devices have "It's not Apple" as one of the top few reasons for using it.
  - CountSessine 15y ago
    Hm, I don't remember that ever happening to me in the last ~2 years with two devices that I've used most: nexus one and motorola defy. But ok, I grant you that it can happen. So what? I've also seen an iPhone freeze completely. That's funny. I use a Nexus S on a daily basis, and compared to my primary phones I've used over the last 3 years (iPhone 3GS, 4, and now 4S), the touch screen is awful. The incontrovertible truth is that every mainstream Android device on the market, including the newest SGS2's, have this annoying 500ms/20 pixel touchscreen 'slop'. And it's annoying as hell. It makes the touchscreen and all the widgets feel slippery. It ruins the built-in android keyboard (I can type at 40+ words per minute on the ios5 touchscreen keyboard, and I need swiftkey if I want to type that fast on android). Ignore this all you like. Those of us who want something better know where to get it.
    - mgkimsal 15y ago
      But you're forgetting the other big screen criteria people have: "not from Apple". Once you factor that in, the Android platforms all fare much better. :)
      - wnight 15y ago
        Or rather, not from a monopolistic company bent on calling users criminals for accessing their own devices. But yeah, if you agree that that describes Apple to a T, or maybe a P, then "Not Apple, (or Microsoft, or ...)".
- mbell 15y ago
  >Might also be why the "mainstream" is primarily using Apple iPads/iPods/iPhones vs the myriad of Android devices available. Which mainstream? Last time I looked Android market share was substantially higher than iOS.
  - gareim 15y ago
    Look again, because iOS has greater market share than Android does. But it's a moot point anyways, because one OS is limited to a few devices that sell at high price points and the other is used by tens of manufacturers and hit low, medium, and high price points. Actually, because of that, it makes iOS's market share even more impressive.
    - gareim 15y ago
      What did I say that was wrong? The guy had the idea that Android has greater market share than iOS, I stated my belief that he was wrong, and then I got downvoted. Some of you guys are too trigger happy with your downvoting buttons. If you're going to downvote, at least explain why so everyone is wiser in the end.
      - deleted 15y ago
        [deleted]
      - untog 15y ago
        I think people probably want you to cite some sources for what you're saying. Because pretty much every article I've read says that Android has a significantly larger market share: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-11-15/tech/30400455_1_ios-iphone-smartphone-market http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-11-15/tech/30400455...
        gareim 15y ago
        Ahh, that's a good point. I usually like to leave others to google it up, but I guess it really is stupid for me to not put a source down since then I could just be making things up. I may be mistaken for what these stats show, since things are very confusing with Android vs iOS. Some places claim one way and other places claim the other. I think the ones that claim iOS have a larger share are counting iPhones, iPod Touches, and iPads. Here's two sources that show iOS having greater share: http://www.bgr.com/2011/11/01/ios-market-share-balloons-in-october-android-climbs-to-no-2-mobile-os/ http://www.bgr.com/2011/11/01/ios-market-share-balloons-in-o... http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_os-ww-monthly-201011-201111 http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_os-ww-monthly-201011-20111... The second one (not sure about the first) is getting their stats from web hits, so how accurate it is, I do not know. I think aside from Apple and Google, no one really knows the real market share.

by jan_g 15y ago

mgkimsal 15y ago

"I'll just go out and say that it's a non-issue for mainstream user." Might also be why the "mainstream" is primarily using Apple iPads/iPods/iPhones vs the myriad of Android devices available. What bothers people is that when you swipe from screen 1 to screen 2, there can be a > .5 second delay. It doesn't feel remotely "natural" for something that you're physically touching and supposedly interacting with.

jan_g 15y ago
>Might also be why the "mainstream" is primarily using Apple iPads/iPods/iPhones I don't believe the reason for that is UI responsiveness (also, I don't agree with your 'primarily' assessment, but let's not chew on that). In my opinion, the differences are so small that UI performance just isn't an issue. There are other areas where iDevices are noticeably better compared to every competing device. >What bothers people is that when you swipe from screen 1 to screen 2, there can be a > .5 second delay Hm, I don't remember that ever happening to me in the last ~2 years with two devices that I've used most: nexus one and motorola defy. But ok, I grant you that it can happen. So what? I've also seen an iPhone freeze completely.
- bethling 15y ago
  For me, the UI performance is the single biggest reason why I don't use Android as my primary phone. No matter how fast the underlying action is, the jumpiness and occasional lagginess makes it feel slow to me. It frustrates me - there's so much I like about the OS that so many good things can be erased by leaving the visible perception of being slow.
- mgkimsal 15y ago
  This has got to be mostly a perception problem, because it's all I ever notice when using any Android device. Swipe/scroll lag has always been noticeable for me. And yes, iPhones do crash/break/jitter, but it's by far a very small percentage of the time compared to how often they're used. As for a "reason" for people using Android: most of the people I know who use Android-based devices have "It's not Apple" as one of the top few reasons for using it.
- CountSessine 15y ago
  Hm, I don't remember that ever happening to me in the last ~2 years with two devices that I've used most: nexus one and motorola defy. But ok, I grant you that it can happen. So what? I've also seen an iPhone freeze completely. That's funny. I use a Nexus S on a daily basis, and compared to my primary phones I've used over the last 3 years (iPhone 3GS, 4, and now 4S), the touch screen is awful. The incontrovertible truth is that every mainstream Android device on the market, including the newest SGS2's, have this annoying 500ms/20 pixel touchscreen 'slop'. And it's annoying as hell. It makes the touchscreen and all the widgets feel slippery. It ruins the built-in android keyboard (I can type at 40+ words per minute on the ios5 touchscreen keyboard, and I need swiftkey if I want to type that fast on android). Ignore this all you like. Those of us who want something better know where to get it.
  - mgkimsal 15y ago
    But you're forgetting the other big screen criteria people have: "not from Apple". Once you factor that in, the Android platforms all fare much better. :)
    - wnight 15y ago
      Or rather, not from a monopolistic company bent on calling users criminals for accessing their own devices. But yeah, if you agree that that describes Apple to a T, or maybe a P, then "Not Apple, (or Microsoft, or ...)".
mbell 15y ago
>Might also be why the "mainstream" is primarily using Apple iPads/iPods/iPhones vs the myriad of Android devices available. Which mainstream? Last time I looked Android market share was substantially higher than iOS.
- gareim 15y ago
  Look again, because iOS has greater market share than Android does. But it's a moot point anyways, because one OS is limited to a few devices that sell at high price points and the other is used by tens of manufacturers and hit low, medium, and high price points. Actually, because of that, it makes iOS's market share even more impressive.
  - gareim 15y ago
    What did I say that was wrong? The guy had the idea that Android has greater market share than iOS, I stated my belief that he was wrong, and then I got downvoted. Some of you guys are too trigger happy with your downvoting buttons. If you're going to downvote, at least explain why so everyone is wiser in the end.
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]
    - untog 15y ago
      I think people probably want you to cite some sources for what you're saying. Because pretty much every article I've read says that Android has a significantly larger market share: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-11-15/tech/30400455_1_ios-iphone-smartphone-market http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-11-15/tech/30400455...
      - gareim 15y ago
        Ahh, that's a good point. I usually like to leave others to google it up, but I guess it really is stupid for me to not put a source down since then I could just be making things up. I may be mistaken for what these stats show, since things are very confusing with Android vs iOS. Some places claim one way and other places claim the other. I think the ones that claim iOS have a larger share are counting iPhones, iPod Touches, and iPads. Here's two sources that show iOS having greater share: http://www.bgr.com/2011/11/01/ios-market-share-balloons-in-october-android-climbs-to-no-2-mobile-os/ http://www.bgr.com/2011/11/01/ios-market-share-balloons-in-o... http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_os-ww-monthly-201011-201111 http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_os-ww-monthly-201011-20111... The second one (not sure about the first) is getting their stats from web hits, so how accurate it is, I do not know. I think aside from Apple and Google, no one really knows the real market share.