Will android ever be as responsive as iOS?

[BD2003]

Every now and then, I get frustrated with the limits of iOS, see some neat new feature and decide to give android a try....again. Every time I last about an hour or two before I get inevitably frustrated with the laggy scrolling and unresponsive touchscreen.

On iOS, it feels like the screen is locked to my finger. On android, regardless of the app or device I use, there's always a noticeable lag between what I'm doing and the screen response, especially scrolling. It's like it only does what you want reluctantly. It's particularly bad in stuff like maps, etc. And it's so incredibly frustrating when you have to touch a target multiple times before it responds.

I don't know what it is, but the "feel" of android is so off compared to iOS. It's not a personal preference thing....iOS is unquestionably and objectively more responsive to touch. So what's the deal with this? What is iOS doing that android isn't? Why is it such a pervasive problem across android devices, even though spec-wise, they put iphones to shame?

And how do android users put up with it? I guess you just get used to it?

 

[Red Storm]

I'm going to say it's a personal preference thing because in my experience it is the opposite. With iOS I find myself constantly having to re-tap buttons. I find the keyboard very annoying to type with, and the scrolling is "sticky" (when doing a swipe to scroll, on Android it keeps scrolling for a bit but on iOS it stops quickly, requiring you too continuously use your finger).

Don't even get me started on the notification center. Clearing notifications is such a pain, that "Clear" button only works for me when I'm not moving and have the phone right up to my face.

 

[BD2003]

I'm going to say it's a personal preference thing because in my experience it is the opposite. With iOS I find myself constantly having to re-tap buttons. I find the keyboard very annoying to type with, and the scrolling is "sticky" (when doing a swipe to scroll, on Android it keeps scrolling for a bit but on iOS it stops quickly, requiring you too continuously use your finger).

Don't even get me started on the notification center. Clearing notifications is such a pain, that "Clear" button only works for me when I'm not moving and have the phone right up to my face.

Certainly I can see the touch targets being a matter of preference, or just something you get used to. But when it comes to scrolling and general responsiveness, I just can't fathom how anyone can have a preference for input lag.

 

[Whiskey16]

The OP failed to qualify what devices, what carrier (if any), and version of Android he used.

Between carrier bloatware, OEM skinning/features, and revision of Android, there are certainly wide ranges in how an 'Android' device may perform.

Nice simple attempt at a topic, though.

I've got a SIM unlocked AT&T S4 Active, yet the bootloader may not yet be unlocked leaving the system stuck with far too many AT&T bloatware services running. My performance issues were not thay of Android 4.3, nor certainly 4.4.2, rather I achieved a speedy and more responsive device only aftet freezing the many AT&T services or deleting them from the system partition.

Not requiring root, another thing I did read use different home screen launcher rather than Samsung's Touchwiz.

My wife's fairly lower end non-carrier Moto G has been quite quick and responsive out of the box, and only speedier again with a 4.4.2 update.

So again, OP, what do you know other than stating fairly irrelevant generalities?

 

[BD2003]

The OP failed to qualify what devices, what carrier (of any), and version of Android he used.



Between carrier bloatware, OEM skinning/features, and revision of Android, there are certainly wide ranges in how an 'Android' device may perform.



Nice simple attempt at a topic, though.

A Moto G, there's very little bloat. Nothing UI, just a few little migration utilities. I had virtually the same experience with a nexus 7 a few months ago.

I think it's fair to say both devices out muscle an iPhone 5S.

 

[jana519]

A Moto G, there's very little bloat. Nothing UI, just a few little migration utilities. I had virtually the same experience with a nexus 7 a few months ago.

I think it's fair to say both devices out muscle an iPhone 5S.

Honestly this could be a hardware issue, not an Android issue. I've owned both Motorola and LG phones, and while Motorola has the muscular processors, the screens are sometimes a bit unresponsive. I would suggest trying a Samsung phone if you're unhappy with the screen feel.

 

[mikeymikec]

No slow-down on my Nexus 5, it's perfectly responsive in my opinion. I've used plenty of Android devices and iOS devices, I've seen laggy ones with either OS.

 

[Ravynmagi]

A Moto G, there's very little bloat. Nothing UI, just a few little migration utilities. I had virtually the same experience with a nexus 7 a few months ago.

I think it's fair to say both devices out muscle an iPhone 5S.

Moto G is a cheap low end Android phone. It's a nice phone for it's price. However it's dual core Snapdragon 400 chip is no match for Apple A7 chip. Also the Nexus 7 (assuming 2013 edition) has a slightly underclocked Snapdragon 600 that also isn't as powerful as the Apple A7.

And Apple's chip is custom designed specifically for that phone. While Android tablets use general purpose ARM chips. Apple has some advantages making the hardware, processor, software, and OS all in house.

However I have an iPhone 5S and iPad Mini 2 along with Nexus 7 2013 and Nexus 5 and other Androids. I noticed the input lag in the past with previous generations of Android, before 4.1. But Project Butter in 4.1 really did a noticeable job smoothing out the Android experience and I really don't notice input lag anymore.

Though it could be I've been using Android so long now I'm just adjusted to it and don't notice it anymore.

 

[jpeyton]

Try a Nexus device and report back.

 

[Blueychan]

Use Windows Phone, problem solved! Smoothest OS out of the 3.

 

[Eug]

Every now and then, I get frustrated with the limits of iOS, see some neat new feature and decide to give android a try....again. Every time I last about an hour or two before I get inevitably frustrated with the laggy scrolling and unresponsive touchscreen.

On iOS, it feels like the screen is locked to my finger. On android, regardless of the app or device I use, there's always a noticeable lag between what I'm doing and the screen response, especially scrolling. It's like it only does what you want reluctantly. It's particularly bad in stuff like maps, etc. And it's so incredibly frustrating when you have to touch a target multiple times before it responds.

I don't know what it is, but the "feel" of android is so off compared to iOS. It's not a personal preference thing....iOS is unquestionably and objectively more responsive to touch. So what's the deal with this? What is iOS doing that android isn't? Why is it such a pervasive problem across android devices, even though spec-wise, they put iphones to shame?

And how do android users put up with it? I guess you just get used to it?

That was one reason I got sick of my 1.5 GHz dual-core Android phone. The other reason is that 3rd party apps tend to be less polished*. I was using it with ICS and Jelly Bean. Never got to try Kit Kat on it because I got rid of it.

Also, my first gen Nexus 7 really feels slow these days too. This is on Kit Kat.

*I've since come to the conclusion that if you want to maximize compatibility on Android phones, the only two truly viable options are the Nexus lines and Samsung's Galaxy lines. If you use anything else, you will run into odd app incompatibilities from time to time.

 

[Crono]

Try using a Snapdragon 801-based phone with stock Android and then report back. A low end phone versus a premium one 5 to 6 times the cost is Apple's to oranges.

 

[BD2003]

I question that it's the processor though....my 4S has considerbly less input lag than the moto G. Technically it's the moto G 4G/LTE, with a quad core CPU.

Nor do I think it has anything to do with nexus/non-nexus, because I recall the exact same experience on the 2nd gen nexus 7.

I'm curious, do most of you also have recent experience with iOS as well? Because if it's something you're used to from years of android, you may not recognize how laggy it is in comparison.

 

[Eug]

Try using a Snapdragon 801-based phone with stock Android and then report back. A low end phone versus a premium one 5 to 6 times the cost is Apple's to oranges.

The latest Android phones are still a bit laggy, but obviously the effect is minimized with uber fast CPUs. The issue though is that Android requires uber fast CPUs just be acceptable IMO.

Mind you part of the reason iOS feels faster is they likely use user interface tricks to fool users into thinking it's faster, when it isn't always. However, that's fine by me, because it just goes to show you Apple is spending time optimizing things for the user where it matters, instead of simply relying upon brute force CPU-speed to compensate.

 

[Trombe]

I find that the inability to adjust animation speeds on iOS and the godawful scroll speeds on web browsers basically makes it slower in real world use but that's just me.

 

[Lyfer]

Can't tell the difference between now with jellybean.

 

[BD2003]

The latest Android phones are still a bit laggy, but obviously the effect is minimized with uber fast CPUs. The issue though is that Android requires uber fast CPUs just be acceptable IMO.

Mind you part of the reason iOS feels faster is they likely use user interface tricks to fool users into thinking it's faster, when it isn't always. However, that's fine by me, because it just goes to show you Apple is spending time optimizing things for the user where it matters, instead of simply relying upon brute force CPU-speed to compensate.

I'm not really talking about the time it takes to launch apps or anything that can be hidden behind a transition. Just purely input lag. Android has always felt so disconnected from your fingers. I bet even my old 3GS has less input lag.

 

[MrSquished]

my nexus 5 had no lag. ditto with my new htc one m8. super fast phones.

 

[tsupersonic]

I find the Nexus 5/One M7 to be smooth/responsive enough. The iPhone has less pixels to drive, and with Apple making just one-two phones, I would hope it's performance be optimized!

 

[Eug]

I'm not really talking about the time it takes to launch apps or anything that can be hidden behind a transition. Just purely input lag. Android has always felt so disconnected from your fingers. I bet even my old 3GS has less input lag.

The old 3GS may have reasonably low input lag, but the thing is so slow these days that it's a moot point. Using a 3GS with the latest version of iOS it can handle is an exercise in frustration.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I question that it's the processor though....my 4S has considerbly less input lag than the moto G. Technically it's the moto G 4G/LTE, with a quad core CPU.

Nor do I think it has anything to do with nexus/non-nexus, because I recall the exact same experience on the 2nd gen nexus 7.

I'm curious, do most of you also have recent experience with iOS as well? Because if it's something you're used to from years of android, you may not recognize how laggy it is in comparison.

The Moto G is a quad A7, so it's cores are not as robust as the A9 or A15 based cores more powerful phones use.

But I agree, the issue is not just the CPU. iOS puts a high priority on UI rendering, but slows down thing happening in the background. Android has a normal priority on UI rendering and allows background tasks to be unaffected by the UI rendering. Android tends to let you do more at once and they can't have the UI bogging things down.

There are people like yourself that are sensitive to this type of thing. But I think for most, it's almost unnoticed these days.

 

[BrightCandle]

While Android can perform well my experience has been iOS is a little bit more responsive. I think the main reason is the Darvik VM causing quite a lot of extra CPU overhead. We will likely see a decent improvement with L and the precompiled apps. It will close the gap but it can't eliminate it, there is always going to be a disadvantage at the same hardware due to the use of Java like VM verses Objective C. But it doesn't always have to be a noticeable amount and Google is working a lot on performance.

 

[Bateluer]

Every now and then, I get frustrated with the limits of iOS, see some neat new feature and decide to give android a try....again. Every time I last about an hour or two before I get inevitably frustrated with the laggy scrolling and unresponsive touchscreen.

On iOS, it feels like the screen is locked to my finger. On android, regardless of the app or device I use, there's always a noticeable lag between what I'm doing and the screen response, especially scrolling. It's like it only does what you want reluctantly. It's particularly bad in stuff like maps, etc. And it's so incredibly frustrating when you have to touch a target multiple times before it responds.

I don't know what it is, but the "feel" of android is so off compared to iOS. It's not a personal preference thing....iOS is unquestionably and objectively more responsive to touch. So what's the deal with this? What is iOS doing that android isn't? Why is it such a pervasive problem across android devices, even though spec-wise, they put iphones to shame?

And how do android users put up with it? I guess you just get used to it?

While not all Android phones are created equal ie, Samsung's TouchWiz bloats down the phone quite a bit, most of what you're experiencing is entirely personal preference. My Galaxy Nexus was lag free, as are my One m7, and G-Pad 8.3 GPe. My Note 8, running TouchWiz, is the laggiest of the bunch, and honestly only barely.

There's a few apps I feel like I have to tap multiple times because they just start slow, Comixology comes to mind, but thats more the fault of the app than the OS. iOS has its own apps that are slow to respond or that get laggy when pushed with a heavy load.

 

[BD2003]

The Moto G is a quad A7, so it's cores are not as robust as the A9 or A15 based cores more powerful phones use.

But I agree, the issue is not just the CPU. iOS puts a high priority on UI rendering, but slows down thing happening in the background. Android has a normal priority on UI rendering and allows background tasks to be unaffected by the UI rendering. Android tends to let you do more at once and they can't have the UI bogging things down.

There are people like yourself that are sensitive to this type of thing. But I think for most, it's almost unnoticed these days.

IIRC, I did hear something similar a while ago, that iOS puts UI updates on the highest priority (basically system interrupt?) whereas android does not. IMO it's the right way to do things - no one should tolerate an unresponsive touch UI any more than they should tolerate a mouse cursor that wasn't responsive.

Regardless, is there any way to modify this behavior?

 

[s44]

Moto G is a cheap low end Android phone. It's a nice phone for it's price. However it's dual core Snapdragon 400 chip is no match for Apple A7 chip. Also the Nexus 7 (assuming 2013 edition) has a slightly underclocked Snapdragon 600 that also isn't as powerful as the Apple A7.

Actually, the G uses a quad... of slow A7s (Apple needs to stop naming their processors the same as ARM cores). It's literally about the least powerful major-brand phone you can buy in the US.

And doesn't the current Nexus 7 have a pre-"600" quad like the DNA?