Why Android P gestures are a risk worth taking

Instead, the problem with the gestures in the current iteration of the Android P beta is one that is sadly familiar to Android users: jank. That’s the technical term (no really) that Google itself uses to describe the behavior of the System UI on this beta. “Jank” is usually translated as weird jitters, effects, and scrolling behavior.

I trust that much of that will be resolved in later iterations of the software, but I’m frankly terrified that the subtler issues won’t be. I’m speaking about the basic feel of moving elements around on the screen. It needs to be as close to perfect as possible – as good as it is on the iPhone X in my opinion – otherwise that sense of “jank” is going to permeate everything.

On a modern flagship, I haven’t experienced any animation issues on Android in years. I remain convinced that iOS users think Android scrolling is “laggy” because Android scrolling is different, not because it’s actually any worse on a flagship, that is. I haven’t touched a lower-spec Android phone in ages, so I don’t know how bad the situation is on those phones.

4 Comments

  1. 2018-05-25 11:42 am
  2. 2018-05-25 8:32 pm
  3. 2018-05-26 7:48 pm