4.4 benefits/features - Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A

Hi guys,
Anyone know the main advantages and updates for 4.4? I'm probably gonna wait for the OTA, but am curious.
Cheers

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Android+4.4+KitKat
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/new-in-android-4-4-kitkat-everything-you-need-to-know/
http://www.android.com/versions/kit-kat-4-4/

touch response
I have noticed touch response is more immediate. Most noticeable when typing or scrolling in chrome. It seems the screen responds immediately to touch input instead of that micro delay that Jellybean had. (Some may disagree about Jellybean) Even if it is minor, it does address that issue that some Apple fans have when trying android devices.
I for one am happy to see the improvement even though I never thought the issue was a major problem to begin with. But it does give you that "oneness with the screen" feel.

Likes/dislikes with update
I've been using a pretty well made RoM for Android 4.4, and I understand that it IS a rom and WILL have issues so I'll not mention the bugs.
So far in my experience the device is lightning fast, and really removes the old apple complaint of android being clunky. Though it's never felt slow to me, it certainly is a speed demon now. With the icons working and installed, the new folders, and new home layout the device really feels bright and homely. Yet you still maintain an ability to make it however you want it, I like this because it gives new users a bright take on Android. So speeds been addressed, and the (Sometimes!) dreary looking devices are addressed What else changed? A lot of little things, but the most important for me is definitely Google Now. For me, Google Now has always been a real flagship for android. A big feature than I really enjoy using, and now that its further integrated into the OS I feel that it will be easier for people to use, and will become much more popular.
All in all, I found that it was a great update.

I am noticing a huge improvement to the battery. I was getting about 17 hours on 4.3 but am getting over 30 hours on 4.4.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

Related

Project Butter - Is it obvious to the naked eye?

People that installed Jelly Bean, do you see any increase in perfomance?
Write your opinions.
Its not a performance gain. Its just as fast as before just not nearly as choppy. There is a video around here sums it up pretty well.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
I do feel like it's snappier, but it's hard to say how much of it is just placebo for hearing about how much snappier it is. There's still some lag every now and then when bringing up the app drawer and such, but there's also graphical improvements that I think make up for everything (the "notification center" or whatever it's called is great).
Although there is Lag in odd spots, I notice neater and smoother transition effects more then anything else. The Keyboard also dissappears when returning to the home screen immediatly rather then lurking on the home screen like it did in ICS. Nothing Major or Revolutionary, but generally neater.
I can tell a major difference after flashing jb.
in old rom chrome is not rendering smoothly when you flip through horizontal tabs comparing to vertical ones. now the problem is completely gone.
From the off, the rom seems noticeably faster and smoother to me.
1. The new app transitions are fantastic. They fade in and out, which is quite slick.
2. The keyboard has ZERO lag, I didn't think it had any lag when I was running AOKP, but running the new JB rom, it's a lot faster again!
3. Home screen/App drawer transitions are a lot snappier. It is now on par with the transitions of an iPhone 4s (Compared with my friends earlier) No lag in the app drawer, even with all of my many apps installed.
4. Last but not least, scrolling long lists is buttery smooth for me Everything just seems so slick at the moment.
On a side note, some subtle changes, like when choosing default action, or long pressing on home screen look a lot nicer. The lock screen looks way cooler. And of course google now seems to be working great. (Aside from having to tell it to use English US, because its not fully functional in the UK)
Hope this helps anyone who was maybe sitting on the fence, I have been running AOKP since getting my nexus, Think is was build 11 or 12 I first had. I am now running Jelly-Belly by Team Inferno and have not even though about returning to AOKP. I will gladly return to AOKP when they release a stable JB update (which will likely be in August some time (JB Source to be released in mid July))
+1 to earlier posts. I can confirm, the "flow" thanks to "Project Butter" is very much appearant to the naked eye. I doubt there is an Android device out there that has a smoother UI than the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 7 with Jelly Bean right now. Love it.
EDIT: The smoothness of live wallpapers seems to have been greatly improved as well. A live wallpaper called "Fresh Leaves" lagged quite bad when using AOKP 4.0. Now, with Jelly Bean - no lag at all
sjrp said:
+1 to earlier posts. I can confirm, the "flow" thanks to "Project Butter" is very much appearant to the naked eye. I doubt there is an Android device out there that has a smoother UI than the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 7 with Jelly Bean right now. Love it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, I also think it is definitely closer, if not on par with that of the iPhone and Windows 7 phones.
Definitely solid 60 fps in more areas. My ics setup is probably 45-50fps solid. I noticed less quirky transitions in jelly bean but a few other odd quirks. Still it is overall smoother than ics. And could use a little more polish.
...
I agree with what everyone has said. Its noticeably a little quicker but it wasn't like ICS was horrible. One thing no one has mentioned is that the delay when pulling up your recent apps is gone. Its now pretty much instant which makes multitasking better. I think everyone should try jb. I've been running stock rooted jb since Wednesday night and couldn't be happier.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
There is LAG.
Whoever says there is no lag, do not see properly, or are fanboys willing to not see or ignore those quirks.
I'm a HUGE Google fan, and I've been disappointed. This is 2012, and I genuinely believed that Android is better in almost EVERY way than iOS. But I disagree now.
I watched the io live, so much chest thumping, project butter n stuff - got me very excited. After installing it on my nexus, and experiencing it - I concur with most of the statements mentioned here.
Now it disappoints me because THERE IS LAG and the way Google boasted about butter, and the hackery that has gone into it to make it "appear" smoother - while the odd lag and jerks still exists as before, is a bit of a dampener.
The phone is noticeably smoother, the jerks are still present - if you have an eye to look at it, and considering Android top smartphones pack 1.5 times the power of an iOS or Windows phone - backed by Google, can still not solve this basic UI fluid problem - is disappointing.
I would prefer less chest thumping, and more action in dealing with this problem but after doing some heavy net searching - I've found this issue relates to the core of android, and makes it an inferior user experience to iOS and even Win P7 which runs on inferior hardware too
search more on the subject and you would find, here's just one piece...
https://plus.google.com/100838276097451809262/posts/VDkV9XaJRGS
dhruvraj said:
Whoever says there is no lag, do not see properly, or are fanboys willing to not see or ignore those quirks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have better than 20/20 vision and am hardly a fanboi. It's a significant boost in performance over ICS. Can't wait to see the AOSP ROMS, they shall be killer.
So keep looking, and you shall find.
Considering this is a Developer PREVIEW, I'd have to say it's amazing. There is most definitely a difference in smoothness when compared to ICS. There is slight lag, but nothing that hasn't been seen on competing OS.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
dhruvraj said:
So keep looking, and you shall find.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I shall find that it's not a significant improvement over ICS?
CMNein said:
I shall find that it's not a significant improvement over ICS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Find proof in what I said earlier which you nitpicked
Observe your phone carefully - and you would find the same thing as what I wrote.
Now for your question here - yes, you are right, it is a good enough improvement over ICS.
The animations are faster, switching to messages and coming back - is much faster. App drawer, open close is faster - the screen "feels" more sensitive - it works with feather touches - and almost feels like the system is eager to make you feel how smooth it is.
All that works. ICS was smooth too. Granted this one is smoother.
Lag and jerks existed in ICS too, and they do in Jelly Bean as well. They have resorted to other ways of making the phone experience to appear smoother while the problem with lag - scrolling through screens, app drawers, switching from app back to home drawer, and then scrolling - the MAJOR components of lag, still exists.
and irritate. If you're fine with it, cool. Good for you. I expected better of Google. Given WP7 and iOS do a phenomenal job with inferior hardware. Even the iOS part doesnt hurt as much as the WP7 does.
I mean come on! MS making this better than Google? There's some serious questions to be asked on our love for android here.
I don't pay attention to the animations since I typically disable them, and they can indeed be "hacked" to appear smoother. I've always felt that animations are just wasted time. I think that this preview is a sign of good things to come, but also some bad things to come, i.e. the new wifi drivers STILL suck.
I can see your point however. I think it's the trade off we have to make to have such great customization vs the Iphone.
dhruvraj said:
There is LAG.
Whoever says there is no lag, do not see properly, or are fanboys willing to not see or ignore those quirks.
I'm a HUGE Google fan, and I've been disappointed. This is 2012, and I genuinely believed that Android is better in almost EVERY way than iOS. But I disagree now.
I watched the io live, so much chest thumping, project butter n stuff - got me very excited. After installing it on my nexus, and experiencing it - I concur with most of the statements mentioned here.
Now it disappoints me because THERE IS LAG and the way Google boasted about butter, and the hackery that has gone into it to make it "appear" smoother - while the odd lag and jerks still exists as before, is a bit of a dampener.
The phone is noticeably smoother, the jerks are still present - if you have an eye to look at it, and considering Android top smartphones pack 1.5 times the power of an iOS or Windows phone - backed by Google, can still not solve this basic UI fluid problem - is disappointing.
I would prefer less chest thumping, and more action in dealing with this problem but after doing some heavy net searching - I've found this issue relates to the core of android, and makes it an inferior user experience to iOS and even Win P7 which runs on inferior hardware too
search more on the subject and you would find, here's just one piece...
https://plus.google.com/100838276097451809262/posts/VDkV9XaJRGS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Finally someone had said what I have been thinking. Jellybean still lags a ton! How can Google talk about project butter so Mich while the rom still lags a crap ton?
Its a leaked developers version, its not ready for primetime and was never meant to be. Once AOSP is updated I'm sure it will be sorted. However, it is a promising start IMO. Seems smoother (NOT lagfree) then stock ICS
Everything's amazing and nobody is happy.
You want to see some lag, try a Vibrant on stock Froyo. This stuff does not bother me in the least. It didn't bother me in ICS. JB is awesome. JMO.

[Q] Hoping for help with S3 smoothness issues.

I just picked up a used S3. My contract is up in Sept and wanted to see if I like the android better the then iphone. I have been generally happy with the Iphone once I jailbroke except the really for vibration mode and missing calls and messages. Also missed the openess to get into files and move stuff around like pictures music and videos. I had a galaxy Captivate 2 years ago that was rooted and was pretty happy to get the iphone because everything just worked smoother and less little issues. Now fast forward 2 years and I was pretty excited to get into the a S3 and see all the improvements. Gotta saw pretty disappointing. This phone feels way to close to the captivate of years ago. It is relatively smooth going thru screens and such with Nova launcher. Apps open fast and don't crash. But in most menu screens and certainly many internet screens, it is just not smooth scrolling to down right heavy choppy. And I enjoy a few games that have great graphics. Real Racing 2 and 3 and even some other more less graphic intense once. Pretty disappointed that they are noticeably not as smooth including tiny pauses. Honestly maybe no better then the captivate and daughters Lg Thrill. All super smooth on the iphone. And ideas would be greatly apprieciated. I really want to love this S3 but already just living with it. It has the latest update of 4.1.1. Thanks
tw557 said:
I just picked up a used S3. My contract is up in Sept and wanted to see if I like the android better the then iphone. I have been generally happy with the Iphone once I jailbroke except the really for vibration mode and missing calls and messages. Also missed the openess to get into files and move stuff around like pictures music and videos. I had a galaxy Captivate 2 years ago that was rooted and was pretty happy to get the iphone because everything just worked smoother and less little issues. Now fast forward 2 years and I was pretty excited to get into the a S3 and see all the improvements. Gotta saw pretty disappointing. This phone feels way to close to the captivate of years ago. It is relatively smooth going thru screens and such with Nova launcher. Apps open fast and don't crash. But in most menu screens and certainly many internet screens, it is just not smooth scrolling to down right heavy choppy. And I enjoy a few games that have great graphics. Real Racing 2 and 3 and even some other more less graphic intense once. Pretty disappointed that they are noticeably not as smooth including tiny pauses. Honestly maybe no better then the captivate and daughters Lg Thrill. All super smooth on the iphone. And ideas would be greatly apprieciated. I really want to love this S3 but already just living with it. It has the latest update of 4.1.1. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For your browser issue, try Dolphin Beta.
For games like Real Racing, it wasn't made for the S3, therefor, it can't achieve full gfx. A fix to the choopyness would be to look into custom ROMs (Either TW or AOSP based). If it's something that interest you, you have a lot of reading to do before jumping into it but once you understand how it works, it's fairly simple.
tw557 said:
I just picked up a used S3. My contract is up in Sept and wanted to see if I like the android better the then iphone. I have been generally happy with the Iphone once I jailbroke except the really for vibration mode and missing calls and messages. Also missed the openess to get into files and move stuff around like pictures music and videos. I had a galaxy Captivate 2 years ago that was rooted and was pretty happy to get the iphone because everything just worked smoother and less little issues. Now fast forward 2 years and I was pretty excited to get into the a S3 and see all the improvements. Gotta saw pretty disappointing. This phone feels way to close to the captivate of years ago. It is relatively smooth going thru screens and such with Nova launcher. Apps open fast and don't crash. But in most menu screens and certainly many internet screens, it is just not smooth scrolling to down right heavy choppy. And I enjoy a few games that have great graphics. Real Racing 2 and 3 and even some other more less graphic intense once. Pretty disappointed that they are noticeably not as smooth including tiny pauses. Honestly maybe no better then the captivate and daughters Lg Thrill. All super smooth on the iphone. And ideas would be greatly apprieciated. I really want to love this S3 but already just living with it. It has the latest update of 4.1.1. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some possible changes to make:
1. for browser, I use the AOSP browser because it is superior in speed and usability to any other browser I try
2. you could switch to another AOSP rom that will have less bloatware and no skin on top of it slowing it down (this will be slight change)
3. to fix laginess on certain points you can try flashing a different kernel with various tweaks that increase butteryness
4. root and overclock the minimum cpu frequency. While this won't help with graphics too much in games (thats GPU), it will help with laggy transitions. Be forewarned, this might decrease battery life depending on what you end up changing the minimum to
If I have helped, slap that thanks button please
Thanks for the quick reply. I did try different browers and did settle on the dolphin. It really seemed very little better then the stock browser but the stock browser has the RRS reader pop up in the bar if applicable and I like that feature like the iphone. Some of the choppy webpages are also somewhat choppy on an iphone too. just not as bad. I was hoping to not get into rooting and Roms and figured a stock S3 should be plenty good now. When you say that the games are now programmed for the S3. are they not programmed for the S3 or Android in general. Do these costom roms adjust the programming somehow. I assume not too much issue to do the root but not familiar in detail of the Rom procedures. Would downloading the S3 toolkit from here be a good starting point. Jailbreaking the Iphone was stupid easy.
tw557 said:
Thanks for the quick reply. I did try different browers and did settle on the dolphin. It really seemed very little better then the stock browser but the stock browser has the RRS reader pop up in the bar if applicable and I like that feature like the iphone. Some of the choppy webpages are also somewhat choppy on an iphone too. just not as bad. I was hoping to not get into rooting and Roms and figured a stock S3 should be plenty good now. When you say that the games are now programmed for the S3. are they not programmed for the S3 or Android in general. Do these costom roms adjust the programming somehow. I assume not too much issue to do the root but not familiar in detail of the Rom procedures. Would downloading the S3 toolkit from here be a good starting point. Jailbreaking the Iphone was stupid easy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's really easy, just gotta read and understand what you're doing before going into it.
Getting a toolkit can be a start. Although, you can skip that and download pre-rooted stock ROM for your carrier.
Here's a good guide to start: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1822308 - I would download GooManager from the market and install TWRP recovery instead of installing CWM recovery like that guide suggests. It's quite simple, just hit a couple buttons
Once you're rooted and have a custom recovery, you can install a ROM from the Dev section (TW or AOSP).
Thanks for all the input and direction to the thread on rooting and Roms. I am very good and can understand directions for this stuff just gets a little overwhelming researching this and seemingless see so many different methods with small variations and then through the word Bricking in too. I love to customize and make stuff my own so i'm pretty sure I will give this a try. Thanks
I am ready to give the rooting a try. I expected a little less confusion then what I'm seeing. I ran across the Casual tool which looked interesting as compared to the download drivers then odin and unziping files and such. As I looked over the list of computer systems I don't see Vista business listed. Will this be a problem. Also does it make a difference if ICS or jellybean. Thanks again
tw557 said:
I am ready to give the rooting a try. I expected a little less confusion then what I'm seeing. I ran across the Casual tool which looked interesting as compared to the download drivers then odin and unziping files and such. As I looked over the list of computer systems I don't see Vista business listed. Will this be a problem. Also does it make a difference if ICS or jellybean. Thanks again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry to hear that you are on vista but it should do the job, my windows 8 even works fine. it doesn't matter which rooted stock rom you flash, but I would recommend flashing Jelly Bean rather than ICS just because well its newer
oh and for first custom rom, I would recommend, Carbon Rom nightlies, they are stable and smooth and have a lot of customization http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2136846

This might sound weird.

So I've been around android and xda a long while. I've had countless android devices, none of which I was ever really blown away by. HTC magic was my first and nexus 4 was my last, and everything in between. Anyway, I recently grew tired of the same old and don't judge me, bought a Nokia lumia 810. Obviously completely different aspect and in my opinion wp8 has huge potential. I used it for a few days and found the hardware to be of insane quality, but the obvious was usability with lack of apps I normally use or apps that were missing options. So, I went back to my long tucked away gsm galaxy nexus and installed latest purity with fancy kernel. Instant red gratification. So, my question is, did 4.3 really improve that much in fluidity of the os as whole, because 4.3 feels a lot different compared to 4.2.2. It could be me being impartial in a subliminal mind type of way to android since I've been with it for almost 4 years. I was trying to convince myself that I needed a change and thought although beautiful, wp8 was the answer. Sorry for the rant.
well battery life's certainly been improved IMO
and the UI shows much less lag than 4.2.2
First run with a year and a half old battery gave me 4 1/2 hours sot. The gnex has definitely been revitalized
xD
Sounds like me.
4.3 definitely fixed the lag issue 4.2.2 had, but thats about all that has changed in jellybean, can't wait for klp.
fux0r99 said:
4.3 definitely fixed the lag issue 4.2.2 had, but thats about all that has changed in jellybean, can't wait for klp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, 4.3 fixed the lag issue 4.2.2. you may better check again.

Why can't Samsung make Touchwiz smooth?

Even on a super fast device like this one, Touchwiz is still garbage in terms of fluidity and smoothness compared to Sense. 6
I just switched from HTC One M8, and it was smoother than Touchwiz in almost every respect. Sure, some scenarios are nearly indistinguishable on both devices in terms of smoothness, but some are really bad on Note 4.
For example, whenever something happens in the background that requires storage access, the Note starts to chug.
Do this test on your device. Start updating 5-10 apps in the Play Store, then go and scroll in some other app. You will see immediately that the scrolling becomes jerky and sometimes stops completely for half a second when a new app starts updating. Sense doesn't do that. If you've never played with Sense 6, I suggest you go to a store and check it out - it's completely smooth regardless of what happens in the background.
It's as if Sense can utilize only idle cpu cycles for background processes, so everything remains smooth and fluid at all times, while Note 4 appears to give full real time priority for certain routines of background processes. For a modern flagship devices, this is unacceptable.
I really hope we can get root very soon, so developers can possibly fix this travesty.
How do we get Samsung to care about this? I took their survey from the email I got. I focused on speed and performance. How else can we alert Samsung? That people who care about speed and performance should have a voice?
Touchwiz is sorta like windows vista lmao
I doubt anyone on XDA uses Touchwiz versus Nova and the other choices.
chamberc said:
I doubt anyone on XDA uses Touchwiz versus Nova and the other choices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Touchwiz here refers to the entire Android "skin, " not just the launcher. You will have jerky performance of the kind I described in the op with Nova and any other launcher.
I have used Nova for years and the performance blows TW out of the water. No "jerkiness" at all.
chamberc said:
I doubt anyone on XDA uses Touchwiz versus Nova and the other choices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tons of people use the TouchWiz launcher. Nova is nice, and I used it on my g3, but I need the stock widgets that can't be replicated.
OP. I agree to a point. Touchwiz is much more fluid that in the past. It has hiccups, but it's a trade off for feature rich software. It's odd, because the g3 lacked features and lagged worse than any phone I've owned. The m8 is buttery smooth, but it's also boring.
chamberc said:
I have used Nova for years and the performance blows TW out of the water. No "jerkiness" at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You didn't even read what I wrote did you?
Rippley05 said:
Tons of people use the TouchWiz launcher. Nova is nice, and I used it on my g3, but I need the stock widgets that can't be replicated.
OP. I agree to a point. Touchwiz is much more fluid that in the past. It has hiccups, but it's a trade off for feature rich software. It's odd, because the g3 lacked features and lagged worse than any phone I've owned. The m8 is buttery smooth, but it's also boring.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think it's a trade off. It feels like there's a fundamental problem with the way the skin is programmed by Samsung.
But I'm not an expert. It would be nice if a developer could chime in.
nabbed said:
You didn't even read what I wrote did you?
I don't think it's a trade off. It feels like there's a fundamental problem with the way the skin is programmed by Samsung.
But I'm not an expert. It would be nice if a developer could chime in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You bet... Nova is far less laggy than touchwiz.
chamberc said:
You bet... Nova is far less laggy than touchwiz.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please stop derailing the thread. Touchwiz is an android skin, not just the launcher. You can't use Nova while scrolling in a web browser, can you?
nabbed said:
Please stop derailing the thread. Touchwiz is an android skin, not just the launcher. You can't use Nova while scrolling in a web browser, can you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOLOL he is just not getting what you're saying dude... give up on him... the rest of us understand exactly what you mean... cannot wait for root.... hopeful after reading the last few posts of this thread ---> http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4-verizon/general/talk-root-t2908919/page18# we may be getting somewhere...
nabbed said:
You didn't even read what I wrote did you?
I don't think it's a trade off. It feels like there's a fundamental problem with the way the skin is programmed by Samsung.
But I'm not an expert. It would be nice if a developer could chime in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not an expert either, but it's obvious, at least to me, that the more you cram into an OS..the more it taxes the hardware/software.
It is a tradeoff because everyone who has owned a Samsung device knows it will be this way..so we trade off butter smoothness for software features. Maybe Samsung will figure it out one day, maybe they won't.
HTC was the same way until they stripped Sense down to barebones. While it is nice to scroll on the m8, it is also boring for me to have such a generic feeling device. It's all about preference.
My N4 is very smooth. Especially compared to my G3. Only thing that lags is the recent apps button up, which is a bit disappointing as I use that all the time.
I agree with the issues with tw. Part of it has to do with the work on the Java threads which is why the choreographer process always drops frames which is the jitter. The kernels are also tuned differently and more for stability than anything else.
Rippley05 said:
I'm not an expert either, but it's obvious, at least to me, that the more you cram into an OS..the more it taxes the hardware/software.
It is a tradeoff because everyone who has owned a Samsung device knows it will be this way..so we trade off butter smoothness for software features. Maybe Samsung will figure it out one day, maybe they won't.
HTC was the same way until they stripped Sense down to barebones. While it is nice to scroll on the m8, it is also boring for me to have such a generic feeling device. It's all about preference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since you've made it abundantly clear that the launcher is a separate issue, how is sense boring, not counting the launcher?
Just about every Android Ive ever used gets herky jerky when apps are installing. Thunderbolt, GNex, Note 3, etc.
Samsung should be able to tune the response in things like recent apps though. I was using a DROID RAZR M recently and recent apps pops up instantly on that old thing. The Note 4 takes a good second or three to bring up recent apps depending how many recent apps are in there.
deefster said:
Since you've made it abundantly clear that the launcher is a separate issue, how is sense boring, not counting the launcher?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually. Where did I make it abundantly clear? May want to pay attention to what you read. Wasn't me.
Sense is boring to me. It's generic, doesn't offer a fraction of the software features and customization that samsung/LG offer. That's the tradeoff for being so smooth..and that's what I was talking about. Not the launcher.
I'm enjoying touch wiz. I don't see how u guys don't like it. If u don't like it then just don't buy a Samsung phone.
It's more of a fundamental issue with android in general. Here is an older article, but it explains the issue pretty well.
http://techland.time.com/2011/12/07/is-android-doomed-to-lag-more-than-ios/
Maybe lollipop will change how the UI is rendered , maybe not. But I don't think the lagginess is the sole product of touchwiz. Touchwiz does not modify the deep level coding that controls CPU access prority, ISR behavior, etc. Seems like Samsung is trying to do the best with what they got.
Here is some follow up on the guys original post where google developers comment.
https://plus.google.com/app/basic/stream/z13fzt2wrwaxwjqxc04cdx0jsve5hhl4b04
While I'm not a software engineer, I am an electrical and computer engineer. I quit my full time job and went back to school at 30 because I was tired of not being educated enough to understand the things I had questions about.
It's funny.. the more I learned the more I realized how astonishingly difficult it was/is to build the technology we have today. The amount of engineering that goes into designing today's modern processors is incredible. Now that I am "in the know" with exactly how these things work, it's a lot easier for me to understand the milestones and why things are the way they are (heat dissapation in modern multicore CPUs is one of those things that is hard to solve and even harder to explain to the layman why it's hard to solve, a commanding grasp of quantum physics and modern microscale transistor design theory is needed) and I don't get bothered by it, I realize that it's being worked on and I can identify the subtle improvements and I recognize the significance of those improvements.
The point is, it's easy to "blame" samsung or Google for the stuttering you are experiencing, but it's better to recognize the progress that's being made. The problem is not trivial to solve and to think it is or that "it should have been fixed by now" is really naive.
crazed_z06 said:
Just about every Android Ive ever used gets herky jerky when apps are installing. Thunderbolt, GNex, Note 3, etc.
Samsung should be able to tune the response in things like recent apps though. I was using a DROID RAZR M recently and recent apps pops up instantly on that old thing. The Note 4 takes a good second or three to bring up recent apps depending how many recent apps are in there.
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Click to collapse
This is really the thing that bothers me the most. Bringing up recent apps is SO SLOW. There is a huge delay when you press that button. It really makes that feature useless for the stuff I use most, because I can just hit the home button and the app shortcut faster than using recent apps.

SO! How are you finding your shiney new HTC M9 ?? Is it all you thought it would be?

As the title states.
Personally I love this phone, it's kind of like a really cool car, like an alpha romeo which has it's faults but just for the simple fact of the way it's made and the way it feels, I wouldn't change it.
EDIT: Maybe the battery life
Feel free to have a moan
I love the case I have and the way it perfectly matches the phone. It's a body glove and the phone is the darker one.
Video won't resume when going from the recent apps. It opens then disappears.
I love the speakers on front. When HTC did that year's ago I was amazed. Then I thought everyone should. I think it's crazy stupid not to. Sounds good too.
Screen is OK. I'd like bigger though and way better viewing angle. Gets dark when it's laying flat on my bed and I'm reading the web. I don't want to always hold it.
Keyboard is terrible in my opinion. Samsung works way better for me. I want keys a bit bigger and darker with numbers on top and much better auto correction. Swiftkey didn't work well enough for me.
Performance seems iffy. I mean I don't know if this is how things should be. I had the Verizon GS5 for 6 months like the 5th of this month so I'm used to that phone. Games sometimes jerk and seem to load no faster then on my GS5. They seem to crash much more. Games like the clash games, star Wars commander etc. Those types are all I play.
I want to disable apps I won't use so they're not always running. But this can cause issues maybe.
Battery needs a ton of help. Wish all phones had the power and 5000 mah battery would give.
I prefer Sense a little to tw and others based on color and lines separating options more in setting menus etc. Seems a bit more clean.
Have couple more days to return my phone and I'm not sure if I want to keep this and exchange for another or get a g3 or gs6. G4 not out for awhile still.
@buggs1a I hear you with the battery it isn't great but then I haven't tried to optimise it very much, once I cut out all the dead wood and find the wake locks it should be a lot better. 2 days is a possibility depending on usage. Haven't noticed the playback from video as I use MX player. Give it a whirl and use auto starts to kill off apps
buggs1a said:
I love the case I have and the way it perfectly matches the phone. It's a body glove and the phone is the darker one.
Video won't resume when going from the recent apps. It opens then disappears.
I love the speakers on front. When HTC did that year's ago I was amazed. Then I thought everyone should. I think it's crazy stupid not to. Sounds good too.
Screen is OK. I'd like bigger though and way better viewing angle. Gets dark when it's laying flat on my bed and I'm reading the web. I don't want to always hold it.
Keyboard is terrible in my opinion. Samsung works way better for me. I want keys a bit bigger and darker with numbers on top and much better auto correction. Swiftkey didn't work well enough for me.
Performance seems iffy. I mean I don't know if this is how things should be. I had the Verizon GS5 for 6 months like the 5th of this month so I'm used to that phone. Games sometimes jerk and seem to load no faster then on my GS5. They seem to crash much more. Games like the clash games, star Wars commander etc. Those types are all I play.
I want to disable apps I won't use so they're not always running. But this can cause issues maybe.
Battery needs a ton of help. Wish all phones had the power and 5000 mah battery would give.
I prefer Sense a little to tw and others based on color and lines separating options more in setting menus etc. Seems a bit more clean.
Have couple more days to return my phone and I'm not sure if I want to keep this and exchange for another or get a g3 or gs6. G4 not out for awhile still.
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Click to collapse
I would return it if I were you. Because much of what you mention, are not real issues, but are areas that just don't meet your desires. The screen is not going to grow, the battery is not going to grow, and the keyboard is what it is. I'm surprised you couldn't find a skin for Swiftkey that satisfied your needs. Also, it sounds like you may have an issue with your phone, as mine is buttery smooth, no crashes.
Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk
fernandezhjr said:
I would return it if I were you. Because much of what you mention, are not real issues, but are areas that just don't meet your desires. The screen is not going to grow, the battery is not going to grow, and the keyboard is what it is. I'm surprised you couldn't find a skin for Swiftkey that satisfied your needs. Also, it sounds like you may have an issue with your phone, as mine is buttery smooth, no crashes.
Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk
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Although the battery will get better with updates
I'm averaging close to 5.5 hours of SOT on a full charge, but I'm with AT&T and am typically always in an area with a reputable signal. Apart from actual usage, and assuming there are no wakelocks going on, a phones signal is the biggest battery drainer. No signal or a weak signal will keep the phone signal searching and cause more drain on the battery. For this reason, I agree, battery life can be improved thru updates, especially if the radio firmware sees an update.
Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk
buggs1a said:
Keyboard is terrible in my opinion. Samsung works way better for me. I want keys a bit bigger and darker with numbers on top and much better auto correction. Swiftkey didn't work well enough for me.
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Click to collapse
I've been using the Minuum keyboard and have grown to really like it. At times it will frustrate me with it's auto-correction, but what keyboard doesn't? They have a free version to try, so maybe give it a spin.
I'm in agreement that the battery goes quick when power saver is not active. I have a feeling that it will improve with newer versions of Lollipop, Sense and perhaps even changed HTC bits that optimize the phone's performance on the 810 chipset.
Let us know which way you go...
I really like the phone! I had the S6 Edge just prior to this and went to Verizon to turn it in as I suddenly caught the auto rotate bug. The rep said this hasnt been fixed and that if it happens again I would have to go through Sammy to get a new one. Not wanting to do that I looked at the M9 and have been really happy since. It is comparable in almost every way to the S6. I do miss the edge on the edge LOL but that is sort of gimmicky.
I bought the M9 when it first came out and was very dissapointed... the first one was returned for overheating which didnt start well, I was annoyed at myself for impulse buying,. but after picking it up again a few days ago Im actually stating to enjoy it...
The camera has been improved alot (but not amazing) through the 1st firmware update and an updated camera app from the Play Store (Raw Format added) which makes me feel better about it.. although Cam still needs work. Boomsound Music Mode is great, as good as the M8.. and not the reported tinney-ness some reviews are reporting. It just has all the things I loved about the M8. For me though that "Sense Home" widget and start screen.. I dont know how this is a good idea, I find it drains the battery like nothing else, using location and tracking...
So far, battery life seems ok, I get about 2 days on Light to Modersate use - Music, Camera, BlinkFeed, I do actually like BF.. but so far.. Im happy with my M9, really like the added "Themes" engine... a nice touch.
It wouldve been nice to see HTC bump up the screen to 5.2 or even 5.5" @ 1080p (I think QHD screens on a device less than 7" is a bit unnecessary) . Just something to seperate it from the M8 other than a camera and Themes
I just hope HTC can get through this and pull out the stops for the M10.. now that Samsung are leaping their way back from the S5 fall with the S6 and LG with the amazing G4, It aint looking good for HTC. For me, they just didnt try hard enough, they just gave into internet pressure, relaced the camera and hoped for the best.. which wasnt a wise thing to do 3 years in a row from the M7.
M9 for me is looking great, just needs some fine tuning, which will hopefully come in 5.1
I exchanged my m9 for the g3 Friday yesterday. And I don't get it how videos show it has themes, but it don't.
No complaints at all coming from Xperia Z3 to M9. Happy I made the switch.
In fact it is the same feeling
It is too powerful to be contained, which is a really good thing
From the way Htc treats its flagships via software updates, i can see that this powerful machine will be even more optimised and speedy, and will get improvement in every area!
If you are not aware, the Taiwan M9 recieved an update to its base from 1.32 to 1.40 with some massive camera improvements! And it is said that people are getting past the 6 hours screen on time with the latest update, as well as reporting that the phone is a Lot cooler than the 1.32 base
So that is very great news indeed, which makes me feel very optimistic!
You see? Improved battery life, improved thermal management, improved camera performance! This is awesome
And still android 5.1.1 will boost the mobile's general perfromance with a lot of misc bug fixes and enhancements by google. The future is bright for this phone, i see
Mostafa Wael said:
In fact it is the same feeling
It is too powerful to be contained, which is a really good thing
From the way Htc treats its flagships via software updates, i can see that this powerful machine will be even more optimised and speedy, and will get improvement in every area!
If you are not aware, the Taiwan M9 recieved an update to its base from 1.32 to 1.40 with some massive camera improvements! And it is said that people are getting past the 6 hours screen on time with the latest update, as well as reporting that the phone is a Lot cooler than the 1.32 base
So that is very great news indeed, which makes me feel very optimistic!
You see? Improved battery life, improved thermal management, improved camera performance! This is awesome
And still android 5.1.1 will boost the mobile's general perfromance with a lot of misc bug fixes and enhancements by google. The future is bright for this phone, i see
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Click to collapse
Im still on 1.32 mate, I'm running Leedroid and I'd rather he got all the issues sorted prior to a release, I've heard good and bad about 1.40, some lag with proximity and opening screen. Camera is improved by all accounts. Will see what happens.
Cheers.
dladz said:
Im still on 1.32 mate, I'm running Leedroid and I'd rather he got all the issues sorted prior to a release, I've heard good and bad about 1.40, some lag with proximity and opening screen. Camera is improved by all accounts. Will see what happens.
Cheers.
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I guess that's why the 1.40 isn't rolled out to the .401 region
Mostafa Wael said:
I guess that's why the 1.40 isn't rolled out to the .401 region
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Not entirely sure as to why it hasn't been rolled out, I can see Lee, leapfrogging this version and going for the next one, the issues at this point appear to outweigh the benefits, besides the camera ofc
dladz said:
Not entirely sure as to why it hasn't been rolled out, I can see Lee, leapfrogging this version and going for the next one, the issues at this point appear to outweigh the benefits, besides the camera ofc
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That is pure speculation on your part, unless you have some concrete evidence you can link us to.
fernandezhjr said:
That is pure speculation on your part, unless you have some concrete evidence you can link us to.
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Just things I've heard around the threads to be honest. Not speculating at all..
Beyond the apparently improved camera which in all fairness isn't that much of an improvement, the white balance isn't fixed and its still far too sharp, I've heard about random reboots etc, some of this is in Lees thread too
Do a bit of reading and you'll see for yourself, I don't just make things up and I'm not about to continue a heated debate especially when someone is presumptuous towards me.
dladz said:
Just things I've heard around the threads to be honest. Not speculating at all..
Beyond the apparently improved camera which in all fairness isn't that much of an improvement, the white balance isn't fixed and its still far too sharp, I've heard about random reboots etc, some of this is in Lees thread too
Do a bit of reading and you'll see for yourself, I don't just make things up and I'm not about to continue a heated debate especially when someone is presumptuous towards me.
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I do plenty of reading and what I have seen is improved camera, improved battery life, and a slight improvement performance wise. I'm not looking for a heated debate. I just haven't seen much posted in the way of negatives, yet you say the negatives outweigh the positives, which is why I ask for some links. Now, I'm talking stock. If a developer takes the base and his custom rom causes reboots, that's on him.
fernandezhjr said:
I do plenty of reading and what I have seen is improved camera, improved battery life, and a slight improvement performance wise. I'm not looking for a heated debate. I just haven't seen much posted in the way of negatives, yet you say the negatives outweigh the positives, which is why I ask for some links. Now, I'm talking stock. If a developer takes the base and his custom rom causes reboots, that's on him.
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Click to collapse
Do you have a point to make about your phone? Is there something you'd like to share about the m9? Did you read the title of the thread?
You've jumped on other people and have challenged each of them towards their point. But you yourself have said nothing and contributed nothing towards the thread, that's actually trolling, this Is not a thread for that, this is for people to have their say.. How can they do that or want to with you waiting there for everyone? Move on or contribute
dladz said:
Do you have a point to make about your phone? Is there something you'd like to share about the m9? Did you read the title of the thread?
You've jumped on other people and have challenged each of them towards their point. But you yourself have said nothing and contributed nothing towards the thread, that's actually trolling, this Is not a thread for that, this is for people to have their say.. How can they do that or want to with you waiting there for everyone? Move on or contribute
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I think this phone is beast mode, granted I'm coming from the EVOLTE, but I picked HTC for sound and it's GPU power which is better than its competition. Only thing that upsets me is consumer reviews and the fact that this device got bashed because of the m9+ released in the foreign market and users thinking it was so much better because of a slightly bigger screen and finger print scanner. I just hope this "hero" device they are talking about releasing doesn't deter development on the m9. Just my opinion

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