There are some discussions of this topic on the internet but I'm looking for something objective and technical like the Stack Exchange community is generally quite good at.
I've resisted the smartphone and tablet wave thus far but will probably buy my first Android device soon and start developing for the platform.
I much prefer Android's openness to Apple's walled garden. But the thing that bothers me most is that iOS is silky smooth and Android is not, even on pretty powerful devices with multiple CPU and graphics cores.
Is this something that's already overcome in newer Android or that is really on a problem on older/cheaper devices? Or is it inherent due to Android being fully multitasking and based on Unix?
Edit(In response to the possibility that this question invites opinion based answers) :
This question is not intended to be opinion based but rather to gather information on real differences in software or hardware that are responsible for the large differences in test results of factors such as Touch screen responsiveness, and rendering speed of UI elements of the Android and iOS operating systems.
Expected answer:
Answer that pinpoints exact differences in software implementations and reasons for doing so that have lead to disparities in responsiveness
Differences in specific hardware (such as the touch screen) that can be a cause
All backed up with actual test results if possible
Any other relevant and well defined causes/reasons
hippietrail 2014-02-01 11:52:50Z
有关的: Izzy 2014-01-30 07:54:22Z, License: CC BY-SA 3.0
这对这个网站来说真的不是一个很好的问题。在这里工作最佳的问题是有关要克服的特定问题,具有明确的解决方案。这似乎更具邀请,即开始讨论,这不是这个网站的邀请。 ale 2014-01-30 13:01:51Z, License: CC BY-SA 3.0
好吧,我实际上不想要讨论。我想知道实际原因,没有意见或任何模糊。这是Android的一个主要问题,应该有理由理解它。我认为包含讨论的链接的答案是如此美好的方式。 hippietrail 2014-01-30 19:17:27Z, License: CC BY-SA 3.0
如果您想知道实际原因,您需要询问实际的更快或更慢的操作,在真实设备上具有数字。 “为什么x为什么有一个技术答案 Dan Hulme 2014-01-31 13:05:03Z, License: CC BY-SA 3.0
这个问题只吸引了低质量的技术答案,因为大多数人不了解这种软件系统的复杂性。它从Android开始作为一个开放系统,需要在不同的硬件上运行,从低端到高端,与来自同一制造商的IOS相比,也可以控制硬件。在我看来,Android就像ios一样顺利。而且我没有看到这个问题如何有助于未来的访客。我很确定Android背后的公司将确保它保持竞争力,如果有明显的缺点。 Flow 2014-02-01 15:35:16Z, License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Related: Izzy 2014-01-30 07:54:22Z, License: CC BY-SA 3.0
This really isn't a good question for this site. The questions that work best here are about a specific problem to be overcome that has a definitive solution. This seems to be more an invitation to start a discussion, which is not what this site is for ale 2014-01-30 13:01:51Z, License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Well I don't want a discussion actually. I want to know the actual reasons, not opinions or anything fuzzy. This is a major issue with Android and there should be ways to question it objectively. I think the answers with links containing discussions are such good ways hippietrail 2014-01-30 19:17:27Z, License: CC BY-SA 3.0
If you want to know an actual reason, you need to ask about an actual faster or slower operation, with numbers on a real device. There can't be a technical answer to "why does X Dan Hulme 2014-01-31 13:05:03Z, License: CC BY-SA 3.0
This question only attracts low quality technical answers, because most people don't understand the complexity of such a software system. It starts with Android being an open system that needs to run on different hardware, from low-end to high-end, compared to iOS coming from the same manufacturer that also controls the hardware. In my opinion Android is just as smooth as iOS. And I don't see how this question is helpful to future visitors. I am pretty sure the company behind Android will ensure that it stays competitive if there would be a significantly drawback Flow 2014-02-01 15:35:16Z, License: CC BY-SA 3.0
There is an article that discusses the semi-technical reasons/issues that have lead to the differences in smoothness of Android and iPhone devices.
But after gathering some key points from the article one can conclude:
From the very start, IOS had been built around a multi-touch screen (meaning IOS had been built from the gound up to be very responsive as opposed to most other OSs that adopted full screen multi-touch displays)
Yes, it is not always hardware (processing power) dependent it is merely a result of IOS operating system giving more priority to UI rendering, etc where as Android distributes the processing power equaly (this may be an advantage or drawback as with a faster UI everything from download speeds to loading content will slow down)
UI rendering occurs on the main thread of an app
UI rendering has normal priority
Android is very popularly known to be highly customization and it is simply a matter of tweaking kernel parameters like 'lowmemkiller' that can make UI:
amazingly smooth -- easily as smooth as the iPhone or WP7 phones
It is not that Android lacks the potential, but simply that developers prefer to spend resources elsewhere (like on the bigger screens of some devices). Then why doesn't Android spend more resources on UI?
Well, Android is widely distributed among a wide variety of devices, and that is exactly why when it comes to android, only individual owners can overcome these (there is no optimum setting Android developers can set... every device that runs Android has its own set of 'optimum settings' and every user has his own perspective on what they should be 'optimum settings'). So the solution, balance the power...
And no it is not something that has been 'overcome' on newer Android devices. But it depends on what you mean by overcome, as the lowmemkiller of rooted android devices can easily be tweaked (but it comes as a cost to battery,etc...)
For more technicality, see Dianne Hackborn and Andrew Munn
reubenjohn 2014-02-01 09:00:16Z
实际上我不期望是一个单独的设备所有者可以克服的东西,但是Android操作系统的开发人员是否有计划在未来的OS版本中克服它,或者如果他们声称它是如何实现不会消失的有效原因。例如。 hippietrail 2014-01-30 19:20:40Z, License: CC BY-SA 3.0
美丽是,当与Android OS一样开放的东西时,用户和开发人员之间没有明确的边界! reubenjohn 2014-01-30 20:06:15Z, License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Actually I wasn't expecting it would be something an individual device owner could overcome, but whether the Android OS developers have a plan to overcome it in future OS versions or if they claim it is how it is for valid reasons that will not go away. For example hippietrail 2014-01-30 19:20:40Z, License: CC BY-SA 3.0
The beauty is that when it comes to something as open as the Android OS there is no clear boundary between the users and the developers! reubenjohn 2014-01-30 20:06:15Z, License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Project butter: smoother UI, massive RAM hog, Project Svelte: trying to undo the butter mess. They're going one step forward then one back again with this. Throw in horrible OEM skins like Samsung Touchwiz and you are left with VERY under optimised UI at the end of it all. Stock KitKat on the S4 is extremely smooth and responsive and maintains a 60fps for me with nearly all UI interactions. It's just the fragmented, overlaid, multiple devices mess that has emerged into the ecosystem that Google are now trying to undo starting with KitKat. Perhaps the new Android Runtime (ART) will help RossC 2014-01-31 12:12:31Z, License: CC BY-SA 3.0