Android Tablets are Laggy compared to the iPad and Windows 8 tablet.

[badbrad17]

I hope I got your attention on the title.

First of all, I will say that I am a true Android fan and love the overall experience. I have 4 devices and am planning on buying the Nexus 4 soon.

I posted this in reply to another thread but felt it was worth posting to see how everyone else felt about it.

I was in Staples yesterday and played with a bunch of Tablets. The big thing I have always disliked most about Android is the laggy touchscreen compared to iOS. I'm not sure why this is such a problem but even my Transformer Prime just hesitates way more than it should IMO.

I did a simple pinch to zoom test which I think really shows how a device performs in every day use. I loaded a website on the iPad 3, the new Asus windows 8 tablet, the Nexus 7, Acer Iconia, Asus TF300 and Transformer Prime. The differences in this experience were very obvious and noticeably glaring when switching back and forth. I felt that the winner was surprisingly the Windows 8 tablet followed by the iPad then the Nexus 7. The other Android tablets lagged and stuttered significantly compared which surprised me considering that Asus also makes the N7 and they put very little bloatware on their OS skins. But I even felt that the Nexus 7 still fell behind the Win8 tab and iPad. It wasn't bad to any degree but just felt like you had to push the screen more compared to the ultra sensitivity of its competitors.

Regardless of my findings, I am still happy with my Transformer Prime but wonder why Windows was able to make such a responsive touch screen experience on their OS right out of the gate, while Android seems to lag behind in this department. Even with Project Butter Android still couldn't compete with the others. I am waiting to play with the Nexus 10 to see how it performs and I think it will be a winner, but I feel that Android is trying to fix this more with hardware rather than with Software. We are getting a better experience recently but I feel it is more due to adding ram and faster processors and not from better core changes to the Os.

More work needs to be done with project butter IMO.

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[socialcarpet]

I've noticed this as well, though I'd say the Nexus 7 is the least laggy Android device I've used. As I understand it the problem is that Android was not designed to be a touch OS from the ground up, unlike iOS and Windows RT and Windows Phone. As a result, Android will never prioritize touch input in the same way that iOS and Windows RT and phone can. All project butter is is an attempt to use a few tricks to minimize the appearance of lag. From what I can see, it works pretty well, but no, Android is probably never going to be as flawlessly fluid and smooth as iOS and Win RT/phone unless they rewrite it from scratch and break everyone's apps. No amount of angry fan boy denial can change the fact that Android started out as an OS for a non-touch Blackberry like device and by the time Google was making it a touch screen phone (likely after Eric Schmidt got a look at the iPhone concept) it was too late to change. All we can do is keep piling cores and GHz on top of it and buy Nexus devices or root to get rid of crap like TouchWiz that makes it even worse.

Whatever though, I still love my Nexus 7 and I wouldn't trade it for any iPad.

 

[badbrad17]

Ya the Nexus 7 is very nice. I appreciate the info. I still feel like there should be a way to fix this issue. They should be able to rewrite the touch part of the Os without killing the apps but maybe it's not possible. I do find that phones don't suffer as much on newer devices. The Note 2, LG Optimus G and Nexus 4 especially.

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[arturodelac]

Lo ir has nothing to do with that, the real difference is that the iPad and Microsoft tablets tend to have much better GPUs making the experience feel smoother, while on android webpages will load faster due to the better CPUs

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[badbrad17]

Lo ir has nothing to do with that, the real difference is that the iPad and Microsoft tablets tend to have much better GPUs making the experience feel smoother, while on android webpages will load faster due to the better CPUs

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

So what you mean is that the Nexus 7 has a weaker GPU than the iPad 2?

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[arturodelac]

Yes as you can see here tegra GPUs suck http://www.fudzilla.com/mobiles/item/24935-tegra-3-slower-than-ipad-2-a5-gpu

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[CHIP72]

Android OS in general is laggy compared to iOS and WP OS (haven't had enough experience with Windows 8 yet, but I really like what I've seen and experienced at different stores). On a related note, I really wonder when some people say they'd like Android included on Chromebooks. Isn't the point of Chromebooks to have a fast, no fuss web browsing experience?

 

[arturodelac]

My galaxy nexus and my nexus 7 disagree with what you are saying

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[sr2012]

Nexus 7 with Android 4.2 is quite good. Store models may not be updated especially to 4.2.

One X is very smooth on 4.1 like iPhone5 but better somewhat in terms of Android flexibility.

Tegra 3 is still pretty good they just have to work out how to improve the software more.

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[badbrad17]

My galaxy nexus and my nexus 7 disagree with what you are saying

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I've played with a N7 too. And things are getting better. My N4 is certainly much smoother. But do the comparison on the other devices. I think you will agree. You don't notice it as much when you are just using your device. But if you pick up a iPad you will feel the difference. It's just more responsive.

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[sr2012]

I've played with a N7 too. And things are getting better. My N4 is certainly much smoother. But do the comparison on the other devices. I think you will agree. You don't notice it as much when you are just using your device. But if you pick up a iPad you will feel the difference. It's just more responsive.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

Yes, in my view a small price to pay for now to enjoy the flexibility of Android.

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[trainplane]

I have a iPad 3 and Nexus 7 with 4.2 and don't notice the iPad 3 to be any smoother when scrolling between screens. Games tend to run better on the iPad because it has a better GPU. The only thing with the Nexus 7 is very occasionally, there is a brief pause when opening a new app or performing a similar task. It's like a PC pause where a page fault might happen. When we see Tegra 4, Exynos 5, Snapdragon S4 Prime tablets and phones in 2013, it should iron out any lag as long as Google doesn't make Android 5.0 more resource intensive. Haven't tried the Nexus 10 but it has an early Exynos 5 chip and people say it is very smooth.

 

[badbrad17]

Yes, in my view a small price to pay for now to enjoy the flexibility of Android.

Sent from my HTC One X using Android Central Forums

This is where you are 100% correct. Android still does more. But the touch screen was always a sore spot with me.

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[badbrad17]

I have a iPad 3 and Nexus 7 with 4.2 and don't notice the iPad 3 to be any smoother when scrolling between screens. Games tend to run better on the iPad because it has a better GPU. The only thing with the Nexus 7 is very occasionally, there is a brief pause when opening a new app or performing a similar task. It's like a PC pause where a page fault might happen. When we see Tegra 4, Exynos 5, Snapdragon S4 Prime tablets and phones in 2013, it should iron out any lag as long as Google doesn't make Android 5.0 more resource intensive. Haven't tried the Nexus 10 but it has an early Exynos 5 chip and people say it is very smooth.

Try pinch to zoom in your browser. There is a significant difference. And as you noted Android is trying to fix everything with faster hardware. If they would focus on refining the software on touch screen tech a bit more (which they are) then I think it would be the last piece that takes them over the top in tablets.

I would also like to try the N10.

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[trainplane]

Try pinch to zoom in your browser. There is a significant difference. And as you noted Android is trying to fix everything with faster hardware. If they would focus on refining the software on touch screen tech a bit more (which they are) then I think it would be the last piece that takes them over the top in tablets.

I would also like to try the N10.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

Okay, the iPad is better with that, but it could be the browser. And again, the iPad GPU is much better than the Tegra 3 so even if the software were the same, which I'm not saying they are, the iPad would beat it. Also, remember that one of the advantages of tailoring the software for a specific set of hardware is the software can be optimized for that hardware--write to the metal. Notice that Microsoft has strict guidelines for Windows phone and RT devices, which is a departure from the free-for-all Windows ways. Google is constantly working on optimizing as was done in project butter, but they also support a wider variety of ARM chips and GPUs. Android is similar to Windows, a free-for-all.
In the PC world, hardware has finally outpaced software resource needs. A Sandy Bridge i5 basically is the same as a high end Ivy Bridge i7 in all but the most intensive games and applications. I know since I have both. This could happen very soon on Android with the A15's being released. I know it doesn't help people with current devices, but we are where we are and things should be better and better. Is that not at least something to look forward to?

 

[badbrad17]

Okay, the iPad is better with that, but it could be the browser. And again, the iPad GPU is much better than the Tegra 3 so even if the software were the same, which I'm not saying they are, the iPad would beat it. Also, remember that one of the advantages of tailoring the software for a specific set of hardware is the software can be optimized for that hardware--write to the metal. Notice that Microsoft has strict guidelines for Windows phone and RT devices, which is a departure from the free-for-all Windows ways. Google is constantly working on optimizing as was done in project butter, but they also support a wider variety of ARM chips and GPUs. Android is similar to Windows, a free-for-all.
In the PC world, hardware has finally outpaced software resource needs. A Sandy Bridge i5 basically is the same as a high end Ivy Bridge i7 in all but the most intensive games and applications. I know since I have both. This could happen very soon on Android with the A15's being released. I know it doesn't help people with current devices, but we are where we are and things should be better and better. Is that not at least something to look forward to?

I agree. But I would still think that Google could fix this considering it is a nexus device and they make the browser. I played with an Asus Win8 tablet and it was silky smooth. Google has had enough time to get this sorted out. Just saying.

But don't expect me to go buy an iPad or Win tablet

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[sr2012]

I agree. But I would still think that Google could fix this considering it is a nexus device and they make the browser. I played with an Asus Win8 tablet and it was silky smooth. Google has had enough time to get this sorted out. Just saying.

But don't expect me to go buy an iPad or Win tablet

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That's why I like Android now I think the future is good both in terms of software and hardware.

Project Butter was really, really significant and iOS is likely to stagnate somewhat now that's why I bailed from it.

People might bash the Tegra 3 sometimes but on my One X as well it is really decent enough and with Key Lime Pie I expect even more even for 2 year old devices.

2013 will be good.

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[badbrad17]

That's why I like Android now I think the future is good both in terms of software and hardware.

Project Butter was really, really significant and iOS is likely to stagnate somewhat now that's why I bailed from it.

People might bash the Tegra 3 sometimes but on my One X as well it is really decent enough and with Key Lime Pie I expect even more even for 2 year old devices.

2013 will be good.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

Yup. Google is stepping up now and entering the refinement era. It's not about catching up in terms of features, apps or hardware anymore. Now they just need to smooth out the edges a bit more.

A good backup system would be helpful too.

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[socialcarpet]

Lo ir has nothing to do with that, the real difference is that the iPad and Microsoft tablets tend to have much better GPUs making the experience feel smoother, while on android webpages will load faster due to the better CPUs

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

Wrong. There are top of the line Android phones with top of the line GPU's that still lag worse than a single core Adreno 220 Windows Phone.

 

[badbrad17]

Wrong. There are top of the line Android phones with top of the line GPU's that still lag worse than a single core Adreno 220 Windows Phone.

So why do you think this is?

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