Introducing the new Android Runtime - ART

[codesplice]

Did a factory reset on my phone today to see if it would take care of a WiFi issue I've been having. Of course, that put me back on Dalvik. I can definitely feel a difference. ART is quite a bit smoother IMO. I'm going to leave it like this for a day or two and see if there's a difference in battery consumption too.

Definitely looking forward to seeing how that goes!

 

[funkylogik]

Well battery wise. Ive noticed a HUGE increase in standby time with ART and a tiny decrease in screen time (although ive been doin a lot of downloading so thats not certain)
Oh yeah incase you mised Davoids post, the latest Titanium update supports ART :thumbup:

 

[bjacks12]

Definitely looking forward to seeing how that goes!

For starters, it does seem to have fixed my WiFi :smokingsomb:

Tomorrow is when I'll get to test the battery life.

 

[bjacks12]

So far.....battery life on dalvik doesn't look good. 11:30 AM and i'm already down to 70% with very light use.

 

[davoid]

So far.....battery life on dalvik doesn't look good. 11:30 AM and i'm already down to 70% with very light use.

Do you know what is causing it?

There has been a problem with 4.4 gapps draining batteries, so it's worth checking whether Google Services is high on the list in Battery stats. If it is, flash another set of gapps that doesn't drain your battery.

I had this problem and I suspected it was because I had updated some google apps in Play Store and the updated apps were the culprits. As I couldn't identify which app(s) it was, I reflashed my gapps and it fixed the battery drain. However, I am reluctant to update my google apps now.

If you cannot easily identify the cause of your battery drain, Gsam Battery Monitor will show you which apps/processes are responsible.

 

[codesplice]

If you cannot easily identify the cause of your battery drain, Gsam Battery Monitor will show you which apps/processes are responsible.

Does GSAM work with 4.4? I thought there were issues with apps being able to access the battery stats on KK.

 

[Hadron]

They've just released an update for 4.4. The release notes say that a helper app is needed, but as I'm running 4.3 I've not looked into that yet.

 

[davoid]

Yes there is a companion app they recommend using, or if you use Xposed, they have written a module for that which will work for their app as well as other apps that access battery data, such as Better Battery Stats.

So if you use more than one battery monitor app, it might be worth using the Xposed method.

 

[codesplice]

They've just released an update for 4.4. The release notes say that a helper app is needed, but as I'm running 4.3 I've not looked into that yet.

Awesome, I'm glad to hear that! Time to go give it a go!

Thanks for letting me know, btw.


******

Aw, crap

requires the device is rooted

 

[Hadron]

Oh, yeah. Overlooked that ('cos I always root that warning sort of goes over my head)

 

[codesplice]

Oh, yeah. Overlooked that ('cos I always root that warning sort of goes over my head)

I usually do, but with 4.4 I'm doing a bit of an experiment to see how long / how well I can get along without hacking it. Tomorrow will be two weeks without root. I've never ever had a bone-stock device before (I rooted-and-rom'd my Nexus One within 15 minutes of booting it the first time, and didn't even boot my GNex or N4 once before rooting as well) so this is a bit interesting.

So far, the only root-required functions I'm really missing are kernel-level display color control (I like a warmer display at night, previously controlled via Tasker and a shell script I wrote) and, now, detailed battery stats (though the ProcStats in DevOptions are pretty sweet). I'm getting by just using Lux's Night filter, but I don't know how long I'll be able to manage with that (as the quality produced by a filter overlay isn't quite as good as adjusting raw RGB and gamma values).

 

[bjacks12]

GApps are not an issue so far. Google Play Services is way at the bottom of the list. Top contributors right now are the screen and Fox News(lot of battery time, almost no foreground), so I removed it. We'll see what happens from here on out. I've got auto-brightness on and a short time-out on the screen(though I never wait for it to time-out anyway).

 

[bjacks12]

Here is an entire day on Dalvik. Can't complain too much. Had about 2.5 hours of SOT and a bit of travel out of my service area. While driving i had it plugged into my laptop for roughly 30 minutes. It barely draws any power from that though. I will probably switch back to ART tomorrow or Friday.

 

[funkylogik]

They've just released an update for 4.4. The release notes say that a helper app is needed, but as I'm running 4.3 I've not looked into that yet.

You have to join the Beta test group to get latest beta https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.gsamlabs.bbm and install that companion app. Bit of a hasstle but its a great app. Nice update too

 

[nickdalzell]

Any chance the Nexus 10 and 7 will get ART? They lag and crash on Dalvik and I want to kiss dalvik bye so badly. Can't think of a better device to have ART than a Nexus

Checked Dev options but select runtime ain't there

 

[funkylogik]

Really? aw man my 10yr old nephew just got the notification for update on his '12 N7 and he'd heard me tell my niece not to update her s3 yet so he was asking if he should take the update. I sed yes and tonight i was gona put him on ART. The N7 could really benefit from it.
So have any of the official 4.4 builds got it or is it only 3rd party devs who have used the SDK or whatever?

 

[nickdalzell]

Searched and the official word is that the 2013 Nexus 7 got ART but not the 2012 Nexus 7 or the 10. Why they left it out of the 10 is a mystery. Both lag like a gingerbread device with dalvik, making me want to use my iPad again.

I was, however, able to side load the Google Launcher onto them without root though.

I don't want to use a custom ROM on them because that would break the Nexus benefit like OTA updates. It's already a pain in the butt to upgrade my GS3 and that alone makes me want to jump ship to iPhone.

 

[funkylogik]

Maaaan its the gen1 that REALLY needs ART. I thought ART was supposed to be the thing that makes lower spec devices perform better (more iOs like)? Stupid google
My nephews mum has banned him from rooting his tab until warranty runs out (another 13months lol)

 

[nickdalzell]

I agree. It would also help the 10 a bit as well. I'm spoiled by my *new* Galaxy S3 and it having ART turned on.

 

[funkylogik]

Yeah man i must sound obsessed by ART but it makes that huge difference that Jellybean and "project butter" promised to make.
Just cant wait till im able to customise as much while using it. Hidden statusbar for example :thumbup:

 

[nickdalzell]

Project stutter, maybe lol

 

[funkylogik]

Lmao.
If you use a CPU monitor, you can see project butter working. With an ondemand or pegasusq type governor, as soon as you touch the s3 display it jumps to 800mhz in anticipation of an action so it does help a bit with UI. much better if you use a custom kernel to change the boost level to 1.2ghz though lol.
ART is amazing for speed opening/changing apps etc, things that android was bad at

 

[bjacks12]

I've put about 9 hours on it so far today(visiting my folks, slept in til noon, lol). Battery life has been good without fox news running in the background. I'm at 57% after 9 hours, with almost 2 hours of SOT. Most of that time was browsing the web or playing Deer Hunter 2014.

 

[bjacks12]

Well, I just switched back to ART. Much snappier than dalvik. Here is a screenshot of my battery life from today, taken just as i plugged in my phone and switched to ART.

Didn't use the phone a lot because i watched 3 movies with my family. SOT was 2 hrs and 13 minutes, but at 48%, i could still get another hour or two.

Also noticed that my apps now take up about .5 GB more space on my phone.

 

[MotoTriumphant]

Is it safe to use ART as my daily driver?