Do Android Phone Progressively Get Slower?

[Surf Donkey]

My daily driver is a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. There's zero lag and I've had it for about a year now. It's as fast as it's been on day one. Android is fantastic. iOS is fantastic, too. They're not all that different in terms of average usage, really, so I wouldn't worry at all and, as has been said in this thread, it's a great time to use Android.

Interesting you say that but wrote this:

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...y-galaxy-s6-edge-is-incredibly-laggy.1907933/

 

[v0lume4]

OP, the take away here is...

I think it's safe for you to try Android. There is no better time. Plenty of great options at varying price ranges. If you look at the main players, I think you and your Android device will be safe.

If you want something cleaner and expect updates in a timely fashion (as you're used to on the iPhone), I vote either the HTC 10 or the Nexus 6P. Of, if you can, wait for the HTC Nexus coming later this year. Moto X Play is another good option.

That's my advice. I wouldn't worry about "natural slow down" over time. I wouldn't worry about it for modern Samsung devices either.

Hope you find the right device for you!

I appreciate your feedback as well as everyone else that has contributed Funny you mention the HTC Nexus, that's actually the phone that I'm holding out for. If it weren't for me waiting on the next Nexus phone, I'd pick up the HTC 10 right now. Incredible-looking phone with near-stock Android. Android is definitely not the same as it was four years ago when I gave it up and I'm excited to see what's happened with it since then.

My daily driver is a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. There's zero lag and I've had it for about a year now. It's as fast as it's been on day one.

Interesting.

 

[maxsix]

I appreciate your feedback as well as everyone else that has contributed Funny you mention the HTC Nexus, that's actually the phone that I'm holding out for. If it weren't for me waiting on the next Nexus phone, I'd pick up the HTC 10 right now. Incredible-looking phone with near-stock Android. Android is definitely not the same as it was four years ago when I gave it up and I'm excited to see what's happened with it since then.


Interesting.

Android is very efficient, I've enjoyed fast, smooth, lag free performance over time, on a wide variety of flagships from a variety of handset makers.

Currently my Nexus 6P, Samsung S7 Edge, HTC Ten, LG V10 and others are simply stellar.

Yet this thread proves that many hate Googles Android OS, and love to bash it... Even though they have no clue how it functions. So they make up stories.



http://www.howtogeek.com/161225/htg-explains-how-android-manages-processes/

 

[jamezr]

Android is very efficient, I've enjoyed fast, smooth, lag free performance over time, on a wide variety of flagships from a variety of handset makers.

Currently my Nexus 6P, Samsung S7 Edge, HTC Ten, LG V10 and others are simply stellar.

Yet this thread proves that many hate Googles Android OS, and love to bash it... Even though they have no clue how it functions. So they make up stories.



http://www.howtogeek.com/161225/htg-explains-how-android-manages-processes/

Exactly....we have one complainer and Samsung basher in this thread and everyone else says they don't have the issue he is complaining about.

 

[Surf Donkey]

Exactly....we have one complainer and Samsung basher in this thread and everyone else says they don't have the issue he is complaining about.

So we have the three Samsung lovers in here all telling me there is no problem, there is never a problem, nothing to see here.

Yet there are those saying they have had lag on Samsung over time besides me and you just choose to ignore those posts. Ok then.

 

[C DM]

Interesting you say that but wrote this:

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...y-galaxy-s6-edge-is-incredibly-laggy.1907933/

That's an interesting juxtaposition.
[doublepost=1464757831][/doublepost]

Android is very efficient, I've enjoyed fast, smooth, lag free performance over time, on a wide variety of flagships from a variety of handset makers.

Currently my Nexus 6P, Samsung S7 Edge, HTC Ten, LG V10 and others are simply stellar.

Yet this thread proves that many hate Googles Android OS, and love to bash it... Even though they have no clue how it functions. So they make up stories.



http://www.howtogeek.com/161225/htg-explains-how-android-manages-processes/

As opposed to essentially the same type of thing happening with similar Apple threads.

 

[Surf Donkey]

So where is your proof that the Samsung phones slow down after a time?

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Sams...ow-I-finally-learned-to-love-phablets_id69197

Simply put, the phablet doesn't run as smoothly as a high-end phone should despite the cutting-edge hardware thrown in it. Games run well, that I can confirm. The UI, on the other hand, exhibits occasional lags, and these can get pretty annoying. Slowdowns are most noticeable after the phone has been sitting idle for a while – apps load slowly, home screen transitions are choppy, and the keyboard takes forever to appear. But the recent apps list is arguably the most lag-prone UI element of them all as it might take 2 to 3 seconds for it to show up.

http://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s6-edge-review-follow-3-months-later-630307/

The biggest difference between the Galaxy S6 Edge before and after the update is the stability and reliability of the handset; prior to the update, the handset was generally stable and rarely forced closed apps or rebooted. After the update, the list of performance issues is almost endless and some of these do make the experience very frustrating.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/07/15/galaxy-s6-review-addendum-three-months-later/

Something you start noticing after using the Galaxy S6 for an extended period of time is that its memory management profile is different than most phones. Despite having 3GB of RAM to play with, Samsung seems to have opted for very aggressive memory management. If you leave something open in the background and launch a few other activities, the GS6 will probably close that first app.

The general consensus before Android 5.1 started rolling out was that this was a bug, but I don't think much has changed now. I suspect this is how Samsung wants the GS6 to work. Power users notice this kind of thing, but I bet most people won't. It might simply be something you have to learn to live with.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/2e119n/samsung_galaxy_s5_review_3_months_later_or_why/

Lag throughout the system, incredibly randomly. The animations on the device are incredibly slow, making it feel sluggish. It takes easily twice as long as the Moto X, with a much less powerful processor, to open simple apps like Chrome and Google Plus. The recent apps button takes a good half a second to even register what it’s supposed to be doing. Very disappointing when phones like the HTC One M8 use a weaker version of the same processor, with a manufacturer skin, and still manage to be snappy, while the Moto X is using a significantly older processor (albeit on a smaller resolution screen) and does just fine.

https://www.androidpit.com/samsung-galaxy-note-4-review

The Note 4 specs are excellent, but there are still some tell-tale TouchWiz delays to be noted. As always, Flipboard (and before it, My Magazine) can be painfully slow to launch, and some apps take way longer than they should considering the beastly internals of the Note 4 specs. If you can survive a bit of good old Samsung lag, then the Note 4 will not disappoint when it comes to performance in other quarters.

https://www.gottabemobile.com/2013/05/08/att-galaxy-note-jelly-bean-problems/

AT&T Galaxy Note owners are also complaining about major lag issues with the device after installing Android 4.1 Jelly Bean wherein the device slows down to a crawl. Remember, Jelly Bean is supposed to bring a smoother user interface, not bring the UI to a screeching halt.

http://www.greenbot.com/article/3004000/smartphones/6-months-with-the-galaxy-s6-edge.html

I don’t know exactly why my Galaxy S6 Edge has become so much slower. My own anecdotal experience leads me to believe it has to do with the memory management issues that were rampant shortly after the phone’s release. I haven’t been able to confirm whether Verizon sent out a fix for that in this summer’s Android 5.1.1 update, either. At the very least, it’s not like the Galaxy S6 Edge is slow and sluggish all the time, but when it’s processing a few things at a time, it struggles to keep up with how quickly I expect it to move.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidQue...alaxy_s6_after_a_few_months_is_complete_shit/

I want to love it, but I can't. Great looking phone. Great camera. It just can't keep up with me doing simple tasks. Task switching and jumping in and out of apps is painfully slow. It didn't seem to behave this way my first few days/weeks. Ideas? Did a new update ruin perf or what. I surely can't be the only one.

http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2015/...-3-month-review-im-worried-about-the-s6-edge/

There’s one other fault that the handset has developed that I just can’t bear to live with: when multi-tasking, it often goes into a weird freeze loop. The screen goes black and then, after an indeterminate amount of time, comes back on at the lock screen. And then flashes on and off again. Repeat.

The buttons to unlock it aren’t responsive, so I can’t enter a code to carry on whatever I was trying to do. It often continues in this loop for several minutes – or until my patience runs out and I have to manually restart the device.

It’s a seriously disappointing situation for such a premium product.

The only way I’ve found to work around it is to disable the lock screen, which isn’t very smart for security.

I’m also beginning to notice a bit of slowness starting to creep into the device – the odd delay in opening an app, or switching between ones that are already running, although this isn’t a major problem.

 

[sartrekid]

Interesting you say that but wrote this:

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...y-galaxy-s6-edge-is-incredibly-laggy.1907933/

Did you read my post in that thread? I assume not.

If you did, you'd have read this:

I've unboxed my phone. For whatever reason I think the green is the most elegant and works really well for me, so I'm keeping it. The main info pertaining to this thread, however, is that this phone does not lag at all. Everything works as it should. Thank goodness! The previous device was a lemon. They don't even compare in terms of performance. I'm glad I didn't settle for less.

I returned the first and second phone. The third version was great and I wrote about it. Not sure what your agenda is, but I want no part in it.

That's an interesting juxtaposition.

As opposed to essentially the same type of thing happening with similar Apple threads.

It is not. Surf Donkey didn't bother to read the thread. I got a lemon the first time around. It was a defective device, but Surf Donkey chose to just go by the headline instead of actually reading the thread.

I like Samsung phones, I like iPhones, I like Sony phones. I have no favorites. The whole favoritism is just silly to me.

 

[MRU]

HTC customer service is poor, because they outsource it. Its poor, its frustrating, and a big turn off. If you are the majority, and get a HTC 10 that free of defects, you won't be disappointed.

I am betting the update speed will be second only to the Nexus, as long as HTC stays alive. If HTC is teaming up with google for 3 years, they will survive, and their updates will be fast.

Samsung does seem to be doing a lot better with support.

It depends which country your in. Samsung also outsource support and servicing in many countries. For example here in Ireland and I had a nightmare of a time last year with my S6 Edge. It's sadly a case of postcode / country lottery



As for thread question ... They may do, however I don't usually hold onto a phone long enough to answer. If they are laggy from the off, then I would be more concerned.

 

[lowendlinux]

@OP My daughter has an S6 Edge and she's not complained about it being slow and the few times I've looked at pictures or whatever it seems fast. My wife has an S3 mini still, and it truly is bad 15 to 20 seconds to open WhatsApp and the like, it needs lots of help. My old HTC one mini got pretty bad after a couple years so this seems to have been a problem in the past but not so much anymore. I assume it's storage optimizations that have been happening over the last couple years in the kernel that have fixed these issues more than any particular brand or skin.

 

[jamezr]

@OP My daughter has an S6 Edge and she's not complained about it being slow and the fee times I've looked at pictures or whatever it seems fast. My wife has an S3 mini still and it truly is bad 15 to 20 seconds to open WhatsApp and the like it needs lots of help. My old HTC one mini got pretty bad after a couple years so this seems to have been a problem in the past but not so much anymore I assume it's storage optimizations that have been happening over the last couple years in the kernel that have fixed these issues more than any particular brand or skin.

There you have it another person with real world experience that their newer Samsung/Android phone didn't slow down over time. The S3 was horrible and TW was an awful resource hog but since the S6 and newer phones......TW has become much better.
[doublepost=1464784189][/doublepost]

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Sams...ow-I-finally-learned-to-love-phablets_id69197/

Dude.....just give up.....your credibility is shot now. People with real world experience on this forum has disputed your Samsung hate with actual experience with the phones.

Then If i sour the internet....i can find post after post about how horrible stock Android is too.........thing about the internet is.....you can find anything you want to fit your agenda if you look.

 

[Surf Donkey]

There you have it another person with real world experience that their newer Samsung/Android phone didn't slow down over time. The S3 was horrible and TW was an awful resource hog but since the S6 and newer phones......TW has become much better.
[doublepost=1464784189][/doublepost]
Dude.....just give up.....your credibility is shot now. People with real world experience on this forum has disputed your Samsung hate with actual experience with the phones.

Then If i sour the internet....i can find post after post about how horrible stock Android is too.........thing about the internet is.....you can find anything you want to fit your agenda if you look.

Did he not write that his S3 IS slow? Now you are only qualifying NEWER devices?

There was no "sour"-ing the internet man. Just searched "galaxy one year" and these were what I found in the reviews. You asked for proof, I provided. But thanks for having the open mind for this corporation for which you seem to need to defend. You are exactly the same as the blind Apple drones around here. At least that is clear.

And I would fully admit stock Android slows down too for many. I am not going to defend it like that. Not like you. But not as widespread as a Samsung device. And not as quickly. Again, just look at the background processes. It is simple computing. Only you are too blind by a corporate logo on the front to see that.

 

[C DM]

There you have it another person with real world experience that their newer Samsung/Android phone didn't slow down over time. The S3 was horrible and TW was an awful resource hog but since the S6 and newer phones......TW has become much better.
[doublepost=1464784189][/doublepost]
Dude.....just give up.....your credibility is shot now. People with real world experience on this forum has disputed your Samsung hate with actual experience with the phones.

Then If i sour the internet....i can find post after post about how horrible stock Android is too.........thing about the internet is.....you can find anything you want to fit your agenda if you look.

But when the same thing--as in all kinds of people's posts about issues--is used to support that Apple is not doing well, or has worse quality, or is doing things on purpose (e.g., planned obsolescence), then that is often used as "proof" by many that have a bone to pick with Apple and when the same thing gets pointed out it just gets dismissed. Can't really have it both ways it seems, right?

 

[epicrayban]

I appreciate your feedback as well as everyone else that has contributed Funny you mention the HTC Nexus, that's actually the phone that I'm holding out for. If it weren't for me waiting on the next Nexus phone, I'd pick up the HTC 10 right now. Incredible-looking phone with near-stock Android. Android is definitely not the same as it was four years ago when I gave it up and I'm excited to see what's happened with it since then.


Interesting.

To be fair, every phone lags a little bit. I've experienced it on iPhones too.

The point is there should be no fear in getting any capable Android device. Hope you enjoy!

 

[Surf Donkey]

But when the same thing--as in all kinds of people's posts about issues--is used to support that Apple is not doing well, or has worse quality, or is doing things on purpose (e.g., planned obsolescence), then that is often used as "proof" by many that have a bone to pick with Apple and when the same thing gets pointed out it just gets dismissed. Can't really have it both ways it seems.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...re-would-switch.1960660/page-21#post-22769900

Yup, he did it right here. I have seen him pick on people around here with the same argument that Apple purposely slows down phones. But when Samsung does the same exact thing, mostly by just ignoring updates completely after some time, they can do no wrong.

I provided proof, but it is not "new" enough or "first account" enough for him. Even though there are first account in this very thread he refuses to read. So now only less than one year old phones are all that qualify for not slowing down over time. Truth is he hasn't even leased a phone long enough to know. So there is really no credibility in his statements. No more than what I am saying. And all it took was me saying one little thing about Sasmung. This has truly been a fun thread.

 

[jamezr]

But when the same thing--as in all kinds of people's posts about issues--is used to support that Apple is not doing well, or has worse quality, or is doing things on purpose (e.g., planned obsolescence), then that is often used as "proof" by many that have a bone to pick with Apple and when the same thing gets pointed out it just gets dismissed. Can't really have it both ways it seems, right?

oh...so now you want to bring Apple into it.... Fact is there is one person here who wants to bash Samsung. Then there are people who are giving first hand experience that disputes what he is saying.

 

[C DM]

oh...so now you want to bring Apple into it.... Fact is there is one person here who wants to bash Samsung. Then there are people who are giving first hand experience that disputes what he is saying.

So basically what I mentioned makes sense and would therefore apply both ways. Got it.

Yep so you admit that the phone you recommended will slow down as well? I will bet I can get one for one the amount of people on the internet that have issues with HTC phones. Want to bet? Yet you recommend HTC bashed Samsung because of your personal bias. That is the crux of it.
That was not proof.....you can find anyone on the internet that has a problem. All you have to do is look.
Yet you ignore that people here in this thread that give first hand experience that disputes what you wrote.

So if whatever is on the internet can't really be used to support much, sounds like that would also then apply to first hand experiences mentioned here, since they are basically just things mentioned on the internet. Again, it seems like we can't really have it both ways.

 

[jamezr]

Did he not write that his S3 IS slow? Now you are only qualifying NEWER devices?

There was no "sour"-ing the internet man. Just searched "galaxy one year" and these were what I found in the reviews. You asked for proof, I provided. But thanks for having the open mind for this corporation for which you seem to need to defend. You are exactly the same as the blind Apple drones around here. At least that is clear.

And I would fully admit stock Android slows down too for many. I am not going to defend it like that. Not like you. But not as widespread as a Samsung device. And not as quickly. Again, just look at the background processes. It is simple computing. Only you are too blind by a corporate logo on the front to see that.

Yep so you admit that the phone you recommended will slow down as well? I will bet I can get one for one the amount of people on the internet that have issues with HTC phones. Want to bet? Yet you recommend HTC bashed Samsung because of your personal bias. That is the crux of it.
That was not proof.....you can find anyone on the internet that has a problem. All you have to do is look.
Yet you ignore that people here in this thread that give first hand experience that disputes what you wrote.
[doublepost=1464791064][/doublepost]

So basically what I mentioned makes sense and would therefore apply both ways.

so basically I was right and you agree with what I wrote?

 

[v0lume4]

@jamezr @Surf Donkey I'm all about some good discussion, but honestly guys, who cares who-said-what in another thread? Apparently old Samsung devices had performance issues because of the monstrosity that TouchWiz used to be (and it DID used to suck, I've used it). The new ones do not. What are we really arguing about?

 

[jamezr]

@jamezr @Surf Donkey I'm all about some good discussion, but honestly guys, who cares who-said-what in another thread? Apparently old Samsung devices had performance issues because of the monstrosity that TouchWiz used to be (and it DID used to suck, I've used it). The new ones do not. What are we really arguing about?

I am good with what you just wrote.......I just get tired of the Samsung bashing by him.

 

[usamaah]

Hey folks!

I've seen some people online complain that their Android phones start off working excellently, but over time (~1 year) become slow and laggy. I thought this was a little discouraging to hear, as I currently use an iPhone 5 which works great given its age. I'm looking to go Android for my next purchase.

Have any of you had experiences with Android becoming slow after a year plus of use? Do you have any pointers to prevent this from happening?

I have extensive Android experience, as well as some iOS experience. In my experience both phones can slow down over time.

As I have more experience on Android I can speak on that more confidently. Friends whose phones have slowed down over time often has to do with how their phone's internal memory has little free space left. I currently use a Moto X 3rd gen with 64GB of internal memory and I was on a forum with another Moto X 3rd gen user who was complaining his device had slowed considerably (in the form of lag when moving around the GUI), and he had a 16GB device which had very little free space. The phone does have a microSD slot but we both chose to use that as external memory rather than format it as internal (which Marshmallow allows you to do). I'm fairly certain that this difference in available free space accounts for some of the lag, because although things like loading GUI interfaces should be in RAM, having available solid disk space is important too because some things do get kicked out of RAM but can be paged to the solid disk. Space usually fills up due to photos/videos, not necessarily apps.

More recently my mom was complaining her phone had slowed, I gave her a Huawei Honor 5X and noticed that Whatsapp video/photo sharing (of her grandson) had filled up her 10GB of available main memory, so I offloaded the pics/videos to her 64GB microSD card and freed up 5GB of space, now she feels it's back to the way it was.

My cousin and another friend bought the 8GB version of the Moto G, which I warned them not to, and they filled up their memory fairly quickly and were left with slow performance.

Other reasons Android phones slow down over time include: 1) cheaper low end or mid-range devices using slower RAM or other internal components 2) because of bad apps that leave stuff on the disk even after you uninstall (so similar to the above issue but less obvious to the user, you have to go into the file system to see this) or 3) bad apps that eat up RAM or utilize the CPU unnecessarily

iOS has protections against the latter two but even iOS users must content with photos/videos filling up their usable space which can slow down the phone. In addition some iOS updates can slow performance if the hardware isn't quite as capable. Overall the iPhone is less likely to have these issues than an Android phone.

You get some benefits with Android but they come at a cost, this being one of them. I'm very happy with my Moto X, from a price / usability standpoint it's perfect. My mom is happy with her Honor 5X (she made me promise I wouldn't spend more than $200 on her phone). The iPhone is a great device but the cost is prohibitive for my mom and personally I don't like iOS on a mobile phone, even though it has better resale value and the software tends to run more stable and stay "fast" longer.

 

[epicrayban]

So we have the three Samsung lovers in here all telling me there is no problem, there is never a problem, nothing to see here.

Yet there are those saying they have had lag on Samsung over time besides me and you just choose to ignore those posts. Ok then.

I think you're picking a bone no one is interested in fighting. A straw man, if you will.

Samsung lovers? What does that mean? Who is saying there is "no problems" or "nothing to see here"?

I can't speak for everyone else here, but I've asked repeatedly of you to simply show evidence of what you've claimed: that Samsung devices lag over time due to TouchWiz (again, not from a bad update; the OP is not asking about that). I'm asking for evidence mainly because I, as a current Samsung owner, would be very interested to know. And I've asked for this evidence to not be anecdotal simply because my own anecdotal experience would conflict with it; my S6 has not slowed down over time. If my S7E is too current to use as an example, my S6 should negate such anecdotes. It's well over a year since its release.

So unless the OP is looking for Samsung devices that come with what I call "old-TouchWiz," it seems to me there isn't enough evidence of your claim. At the very least, it's misleading and unhelpful to the OP, and at the most, you're just perpetuating a concern about TouchWiz from yesteryear.

 

[v0lume4]

I have extensive Android experience, as well as some iOS experience. In my experience both phones can slow down over time.

As I have more experience on Android I can speak on that more confidently. Friends whose phones have slowed down over time often has to do with how their phone's internal memory has little free space left. I currently use a Moto X 3rd gen with 64GB of internal memory and I was on a forum with another Moto X 3rd gen user who was complaining his device had slowed considerably (in the form of lag when moving around the GUI), and he had a 16GB device which had very little free space. The phone does have a microSD slot but we both chose to use that as external memory rather than format it as internal (which Marshmallow allows you to do). I'm fairly certain that this difference in available free space accounts for some of the lag, because although things like loading GUI interfaces should be in RAM, having available solid disk space is important too because some things do get kicked out of RAM but can be paged to the solid disk. Space usually fills up due to photos/videos, not necessarily apps.

More recently my mom was complaining her phone had slowed, I gave her a Huawei Honor 5X and noticed that Whatsapp video/photo sharing (of her grandson) had filled up her 10GB of available main memory, so I offloaded the pics/videos to her 64GB microSD card and freed up 5GB of space, now she feels it's back to the way it was.

My cousin and another friend bought the 8GB version of the Moto G, which I warned them not to, and they filled up their memory fairly quickly and were left with slow performance.

Very well-thought out post. Funny you mention internal storage--I can attest to that. My friend's iPhone 5S (16GB) became unusable. Literally, unusable. It was ridiculous. Why? Because his phone has no space left. My iPhone 5 64GB outperformed his phone and it's a year older than his!

Other reasons Android phones slow down over time include: 1) cheaper low end or mid-range devices using slower RAM or other internal components 2) because of bad apps that leave stuff on the disk even after you uninstall (so similar to the above issue but less obvious to the user, you have to go into the file system to see this) or 3) bad apps that eat up RAM or utilize the CPU unnecessarily

iOS has protections against the latter two but even iOS users must content with photos/videos filling up their usable space which can slow down the phone. In addition some iOS updates can slow performance if the hardware isn't quite as capable. Overall the iPhone is less likely to have these issues than an Android phone.

This. I know that Android has less control over what apps do with its file system which is in-part what worried me. But surely, for power users like you, me, and many others on this forum, this shouldn't be an issue. I think earlier in this thread I mentioned Windows users who will find a way to cripple their machines within months of purchase. On the other hand, I never had an issue with my previous computer (Windows PC) and I owned that thing for over five years. Android must be a bit like that.

 

[epicrayban]

I have extensive Android experience, as well as some iOS experience. In my experience both phones can slow down over time.

As I have more experience on Android I can speak on that more confidently. Friends whose phones have slowed down over time often has to do with how their phone's internal memory has little free space left. I currently use a Moto X 3rd gen with 64GB of internal memory and I was on a forum with another Moto X 3rd gen user who was complaining his device had slowed considerably (in the form of lag when moving around the GUI), and he had a 16GB device which had very little free space. The phone does have a microSD slot but we both chose to use that as external memory rather than format it as internal (which Marshmallow allows you to do). I'm fairly certain that this difference in available free space accounts for some of the lag, because although things like loading GUI interfaces should be in RAM, having available solid disk space is important too because some things do get kicked out of RAM but can be paged to the solid disk. Space usually fills up due to photos/videos, not necessarily apps.

More recently my mom was complaining her phone had slowed, I gave her a Huawei Honor 5X and noticed that Whatsapp video/photo sharing (of her grandson) had filled up her 10GB of available main memory, so I offloaded the pics/videos to her 64GB microSD card and freed up 5GB of space, now she feels it's back to the way it was.

My cousin and another friend bought the 8GB version of the Moto G, which I warned them not to, and they filled up their memory fairly quickly and were left with slow performance.

Other reasons Android phones slow down over time include: 1) cheaper low end or mid-range devices using slower RAM or other internal components 2) because of bad apps that leave stuff on the disk even after you uninstall (so similar to the above issue but less obvious to the user, you have to go into the file system to see this) or 3) bad apps that eat up RAM or utilize the CPU unnecessarily

iOS has protections against the latter two but even iOS users must content with photos/videos filling up their usable space which can slow down the phone. In addition some iOS updates can slow performance if the hardware isn't quite as capable. Overall the iPhone is less likely to have these issues than an Android phone.

You get some benefits with Android but they come at a cost, this being one of them. I'm very happy with my Moto X, from a price / usability standpoint it's perfect. My mom is happy with her Honor 5X (she made me promise I wouldn't spend more than $200 on her phone). The iPhone is a great device but the cost is prohibitive for my mom and personally I don't like iOS on a mobile phone, even though it has better resale value and the software tends to run more stable and stay "fast" longer.

Interesting break down. Thanks for this. Luckily I haven't experienced anything so dramatic, but it's good to know that I should keep any device I use maintained. I mean, I do that anyway, so perhaps that's why I don't experience such slow down even in old devices. I always delete apps I know I don't use often or need. I just don't like the clutter plain and simple.

 

[Wildo6882]

My wife's S6 edge Plus on AT&T (still on Lollipop) runs incredibly well. It's almost a year old and it's just as fast and as fluid as my iPhone 6s Plus. Which, BTW, is not error free. It still lags in some places. You see stutter and jerkiness when unlocking sometimes. Occasionally the keyboard will freeze and you have to close that app and start it up again. And yesterday, my home screen completely froze where if I clicked on an icon it would grey out and do nothing until I did a soft reset.

Nothing is perfect. Most, if not all, of the Android flagships out right now are just as fast and smooth as iOS. It all boils down to OS preference.