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Android Performance

Focus on Android Performance

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2018 Best Items Recommendations - A Reward for Your Hard Work

At the beginning of 2018, I wrote 2017 Best Items Recommendations. Recently, some people asked if I’d do one for 2018. Although 2018 was a tough year, there were still some great things worth recommending to everyone.

Just like in 2017, I’ll share things that I found helpful for work or life. The recommendations include apps, hardware, books, blogs, and columns. I hope they provide value to you in 2019.

Lu Qi: Besides Good Code, What Makes an Engineer Excellent?
Reposted from: Baidu Family, based on Lu Qi’s internal sharing at Baidu in July 2017. It is highly worth learning and pondering for technical personnel. I personally admire Lu Qi. “Lu Qi is known for his incredible energy. He typically wakes up at 4 AM, checks emails, and then runs 4 miles on a...
Does the Android System Not Release Memory?

Besides the CPU, many users consider RAM size when buying a phone. Different RAM configurations come with different prices—but how much RAM do you actually need? How does Android manage its memory? Average users are often confused: How much RAM does this app use? How much does the system use? How does RAM affect my experience? And how much RAM should my next phone have?

A common question on Zhihu is: “Does the Android system not release memory?”. It’s not that the user doesn’t know the system releases memory, but rather they want to understand the mechanics to optimize their experience. In this article, I’ll address these user concerns. More technical details will be covered in later articles.

Some Thoughts on Android System Fluency

I’ve long wanted to write about Android system fluency because it’s the most direct aspect of the user experience. The long-standing criticism that Android “gets laggier over time” still casts a shadow over the platform, and it’s a primary reason many users default to iPhone.

Because Google keeps Android open, different manufacturers produce devices with vastly different hardware, and app quality varies wildly. Consequently, fluency is affected by countless factors. It’s rarely just “the system isn’t optimized.” Often, two devices with the same OS but different SOCs offer completely different experiences.

In this post, I want to discuss the factors affecting Android fluency from several perspectives:

  1. Hardware
  2. System
  3. Applications
  4. The Optimization Loop
Zhihu: Save Your StartingWindow

It’s often said that the overall iOS experience is superior to Android. This is partly due to third-party software quality (iOS versions are often more polished) and partly due to Apple’s tight control over its ecosystem. To get on the App Store, you must pass rigorous reviews.

Today, we’ll discuss a major differentiator between iOS and Android: the StartingWindow (colloquially, the Splash Screen). While both systems have them, their implementations vary wildly. iOS requires a StartingWindow—usually a static image—that displays immediately upon an icon tap with zero delay. Android, being open, allows developers to customize, disable, or even make the StartingWindow transparent.