Touchscreen responsiveness v iPod Touch...Whats the deal?

[Dave12308]

Google should release 2.2 and require a GPU. Just cause htc releases a lot of phones doesn't mean they should define android

All Android devices contain a GPU that is OpenGL compliant. End of story. Even the MSM7201A in the HTC Dream (G1) contains an OpenGL ES compliant GPU.

MSM7000-series wiki:

MSM7000 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[chaosz3ro]

iPod doesn't have multitasking or phone related services running the background and isn't the same resolution as the Droid.

and that matters how?

And the award goes to [drumroll] THIS GUY!

uh huh. well I had an iphone 3G and 3GS before I got my droid and used a third party hack for multitasking on both and everything was still smoother than android.

your turn

 

[Dave12308]

Why would Google use something that wont take advantage of the GPU?

The only reason that comes to mind is ease of 3rd party app development. Remember, Apple doesn't have such things as homescreen widgets to worry about. The iPhone's "home screen" is more akin to the Android app drawer than anything else. Everything that it does is "Apple approved".

 

[HwnDroid]

opcorn: Can you guys pause it for a minute I need to go get more popcorn. opcorn:

 

[rkeller62]

Well one good reason would be that most Android phones don't have a GPU. Even the new Snapdragon phones don't have one.

Don't forget that Apple has full control of hardware and software, so they can be sure that all devices will use a GPU.

My friend, I suggest you do a little research before you post. A Snapdragon chipset most definitely DOES contain a GPU; designed by AMD (ATI division). It's called the AMD Z430. I'm pretty sure that most previous Qualcomm chipsets contained an ATI based GPU as well, since all of these devices are somewhat capable of running OpenGL titles. The problem is, the AMD GPU in the Snapdragon has about half the pixel fillrate of the Droid's PowerVR SGX 530 - it has better triangle performance, but the fillrate frankly sucks.

(It is the ATI GPU that explains WHY the Neocore benchmark performs better on Qualcomm chipsets. ATI uses a different form of texture compression than PowerVR. On a Qualcomm device, the benchmark is using compressed textures. On the Droid's OMAP, it is not. That's why the HTC Hero's framerate beats the Droid on that test)

I stand corrected. Sorry for the misinformation.:icon_eek:

 

[JonKyu]

Well one good reason would be that most Android phones don't have a GPU. Even the new Snapdragon phones don't have one.

Don't forget that Apple has full control of hardware and software, so they can be sure that all devices will use a GPU.

My friend, I suggest you do a little research before you post. A Snapdragon chipset most definitely DOES contain a GPU; designed by AMD (ATI division). It's called the AMD Z430. I'm pretty sure that most previous Qualcomm chipsets contained an ATI based GPU as well, since all of these devices are somewhat capable of running OpenGL titles. The problem is, the AMD GPU in the Snapdragon has about half the pixel fillrate of the Droid's PowerVR SGX 530 - it has better triangle performance, but the fillrate frankly sucks.

(It is the ATI GPU that explains WHY the Neocore benchmark performs better on Qualcomm chipsets. ATI uses a different form of texture compression than PowerVR. On a Qualcomm device, the benchmark is using compressed textures. On the Droid's OMAP, it is not. That's why the HTC Hero's framerate beats the Droid on that test)

This doesn't mean that the HTC Hero performs better than our droid's right? I'm starting to feel that maybe all these benchmarks aren't a really good comparison tool for different devices.

 

[adrynalyne]

HTC Hero would only beat the Droid framerate in that test because its half the resolution.

Want a real test?

Go download Ashpalt 5 from the market. It will chug on the N1, at 1ghz, and be pretty smooth on the Droid at 550mhz, and is flawless on 800mhz+.

Benchmarks are for hobbyists, not those concerned with real world performance.

 

[Champers]

uh huh. well I had an iphone 3G and 3GS before I got my droid and used a third party hack for multitasking on both and everything was still smoother than android.

your turn

Widgets+More then twice the resolution in similar hardware...that's a tough one to figure out why the iPhone is smoother. You just earned yourself the runner up trophy.

 

[iPirate]

Google should release 2.2 and require a GPU. Just cause htc releases a lot of phones doesn't mean they should define android

All Android devices contain a GPU that is OpenGL compliant. End of story. Even the MSM7201A in the HTC Dream (G1) contains an OpenGL ES compliant GPU.

MSM7000-series wiki:

MSM7000 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Then why not use a GUI that uses the GPU? I'm asking because I am too lazy to look it up myself :happy:

 

[mjs31]

I have not read much of the replies, but I am one that does not believe it is Android OS related. I have watched every video on the Incredible and do not see the jumping transition from screen to screen that the Droid has. I have probably watched 50 or so transitions without this issue. I say issue, but it really isn't. It is more of a burdence to some and not others. I have noticed it and it is a tad disapointing, but the rest of the phone more then compensates for it.

 

[adrynalyne]

Thats because you are comparing vanilla Android to Sense UI. Sense has a completely different scrolling algorithm. Switch to the stock home screen before comparing.

Compare stock Home launchers and you will find it quite different. Android has a ways to go before its of the same shine and polish as the stripped down version of OS X the iPhone runs, which has been around much longer. Couple with double the resolution, and NO 2d hardware acceleration for the GUI, things won't be a smooth.

 

[darreno1]

Wow, everything in these forums these days turns into a fanboy argument, and the question at hand NEVER truly gets answered.

The REASON the iPhone/iPod/iPad UI is so responsive is due to the same factors that make OS X run so smoothly on the desktop (UI-wise) - and the same reason why OS X runs smoother on netbooks than Windows 7 does.

iPhone OS is a version of OS X; and uses the same APIs for drawing the UI (Quartz 2D) - this API is designed from the ground up to provide for smooth GUI rendering. It's been around for awhile, even in the mobile arena (iPhone OS is about to enter it's 4th MAJOR revision). Quartz uses the GPU hardware to accelerate rendering of the GUI, and thus the interface is VERY fluid.

Android, on the other hand, uses an API called Skia for 2D graphics (including the GUI) - unfortunately (for those who worry about such things) Skia does not use the GPU for rendering, and instead relies on the CPU. So along with all the other background processing tasks, on an Android device, the CPU also has to handle drawing the GUI. The only thing the GPU does is display what the CPU tells it to.

Nicely put and thanks for the info. It's nice to see some definite data on this recurring subject. So basically in a nutshell the iPhone's interface is like a 3d game, always using the GPU.

To those who prefer this type of interface:

IMO, and some hate to hear this, but you really should just get an iPhone if that's what you're after. Android will get smoother as the hardware specs and code improves but as you can see, it will require the use of a 3d API and new code. Not sure if that's going to happen anytime soon.

The Droid is smooth enough that this isn't even remotely a bother and Android's other strengths greatly outweigh this rather trivial issue (IMO). But obviously not everybody thinks this way hence these threads.

 

[adrynalyne]

Run the same exact hardware at Droid resolution, then I would be impressed if it was still smooth.

This is just like games running choppy at high resolution, and running like a dream at 640x480.

Fanboyism runs both ways.

 

[chaosz3ro]

I'm just saying that from my experiences of two iPhones and the droid, iPhone os was smoother, even on the 3g. Obviously resolution comes into play, but the difference is still there even on beefier hardware, from what I've seen of nexus one/incredible/etc. hands on videos. I'm sure once better hardware comes out and android starts taking advantage of that it will be just as smooth and responsive as iPhone os, or better.

It's sad how this thread turned into name calling though. Android fans can be just as bad as Apple fanboys sometimes I guess.

 

[jrl9851]

NO ONE is as bad as an apple fanboy. I used to be one. I was an idiot.