Technical update — 2026-10-13: First published in 2019, this article retains Systrace HTML and script workflows as historical references. Modern capture examples start from Android 11 / API 30+, with separate version requirements for app tracing APIs, permissions and data sources. Device-side atrace, host-side systrace.py and perfetto are different tools; their options are not interchangeable.

This is the first article in the Systrace series, primarily providing a brief introduction to Systrace, its basic usage, how to interpret Systrace traces, and how to analyze phenomena in Systrace in conjunction with other tools.

The purpose of this series is to view the overall operation of the Android system from a different perspective using Systrace, while also providing an alternative angle for learning the Framework. Perhaps you’ve read many articles about the Framework but can never remember the code, or you’re unclear about the execution flow. Maybe from Systrace’s graphical perspective, you can gain a deeper understanding.

Technical update — 2026-10-13: First published in 2019, this article uses 60 Hz devices to explain frame pacing. 60 FPS is not a fixed standard for every Android device. The universal 16.67 ms budget, mismatched-rate examples and power claims are corrected below, with updated tools available from Android 11 / API 30 and Android 12 / API 31.

This is the third article in the Systrace series, explaining why 60 FPS is constantly emphasized. Here, FPS describes the app’s content frame rate, while Hz describes display refresh rate; they measure different things. For further context, refer to: A New Smooth Experience: A Talk on 90Hz.

The purpose of this series is to view the overall operation of the Android system from a different perspective using Systrace, while also providing an alternative angle for learning the Framework. Perhaps you’ve read many articles about the Framework but can never remember the code, or you’re unclear about the execution flow. Maybe from Systrace’s graphical perspective, you can gain a deeper understanding.

This article separates frame rate from refresh rate, then discusses pacing, power and response latency. On 90 Hz and 120 Hz devices, content updates still need to work with display timing, but 60 FPS and 16.67 ms are no longer universal targets.

Technical update — 2026-10-13: This page is dated 2019 and retains update records from earlier tutorials. The old Systrace tooling workflow is obsolete. Read historical screenshots, source code and experiments against the Android versions stated in each article; they do not describe every current implementation. Start with the Perfetto series below for current capture and analysis workflows.

As Systrace and Android changed, my earlier tutorials started to show their age. I had also learned to read more from a trace, which helped me solve performance problems. I wanted to write those things down and get better at explaining what I had learned. If the notes helped someone else too, all the better.

The purpose of this series is to view the overall operation of the Android system from a different perspective using Systrace, while also providing an alternative angle for learning the Framework. Perhaps you’ve read many articles about the Framework but can never remember the code, or you’re unclear about the execution flow. Maybe from Systrace’s graphical perspective, you can gain a deeper understanding.

Version note — reviewed October 13, 2026: This article was written in 2019. Its device opinions, 90 Hz “sweet spot,” and buying outlook are historical, not current purchase advice. The technical explanations are corrected below, with Android 11/API 30 and Android 15 QPR1 updates. The old tr...