Introducing the new Android Runtime - ART

[davoid]

I've been on ART in AOKP for like three weeks? or so? Of course it's on a gnex so it's on a dinosaur.

So how is it on the gnex? I remember people saying that when it updated to Jelly Bean it was zippier than the S3 so it might be one of those devices that continually benefits from software improvements - although I appreciate it will eventually reach a hardware-constrained plateau. I know my S3 is amazing on kitkat+ART.

 

[pauladev]

Only issues I've seen with apps on ART have been WhatsApp (resolved with ART changes made in 4.4.2), and Keepass2Android (won't load a database if using ART). The latter app simply closes.

I see you noted the WhatsApp problem with ART, which you said was resolved in KitKat 4.4.2.
Unfortunately I was unaware of the issue and tried to reinstall WhatsApp under ART. This resulted in a known problem in that it wouldn't reinstall even after reverting to Dalvik. The given solutions of factory reinstall or root are not attractive.
Do you know of any other way I can get Whatsapp back?

 

[Thom]

I converted to ART for a couple of hours on a Droid Maxx running 4.4.

It kept telling me that Google Play Services had stopped.

I reverted.

... Thom

 

[Rxpert83]

Interesting post looking at ART and battery life impact

Meet ART, Part 3: Battery Life Benchmarks - Not Good, But Not Too Bad

My conclusions from that article: Not really much of an impact yet.

 

[dibblebill]

Interesting post looking at ART and battery life impact

Meet ART, Part 3: Battery Life Benchmarks - Not Good, But Not Too Bad

My conclusions from that article: Not really much of an impact yet.

The Nexus 10 actually benchmarks a lot SLOWER with ART rather than Dalvik, interestingly.

 

[EarlyMon]

Interesting post looking at ART and battery life impact

Meet ART, Part 3: Battery Life Benchmarks - Not Good, But Not Too Bad

My conclusions from that article: Not really much of an impact yet.

Not surprising.

The Nexus 10 actually benchmarks a lot SLOWER with ART rather than Dalvik, interestingly.

Probably says more about the benchmarks than ART.

 

[dibblebill]

Not surprising.





Probably says more about the benchmarks than ART.

Some devices are faster under ART

 

[Rxpert83]

Wasn't the nexus 10 excluded from ART in the OTA?

Could be deeper things going on and Google had a reason for exclusion

 

[EarlyMon]

Some devices are faster under ART

According to benchmarks?

Do you believe them?

 

[dibblebill]

According to benchmarks?

Do you believe them?

Depending on the source, yes and no. There's an inherent issue when the software running the benchmark is dependent on the resource that's changed. I have noticed VERY large changes in VERY specific apps in Dalvik vs ART on my One. One game app would take 30-40 seconds to load into a map on Dalvik, and 10-15 on ART.

However, in day to day use, I've noticed no real difference.

 

[EarlyMon]

Depending on the source, yes and no. There's an inherent issue when the software running the benchmark is dependent on the resource that's changed. I have noticed VERY large changes in VERY specific apps in Dalvik vs ART on my One. One game app would take 30-40 seconds to load into a map on Dalvik, and 10-15 on ART.

However, in day to day use, I've noticed no real difference.

Makes sense to me.

I'd expect faster loading for a lot of apps because it's skipping the compilation phase common to Java/Dalvik code.

How noticeable is going to be app and therefore user dependent.

 

[Rxpert83]

Look like its getting closer!

Recent AOSP Commit Indicates ART Likely To Replace Dalvik In Upcoming Release Of Android

... but still not guaranteed

The developers may have made the change to simplify testing or to make automated builds easier to manage. It's even possible that this will be reverted in the future. In other words, it's too early to be absolutely sure ART is moving into the #1 position, but it's looking pretty good.

 

[EarlyMon]

Check out the informative and extremely well-written comments by DannyB2 -

http://phandroid.com/2014/02/03/art-vs-dalvik/

Really very well done!

 

[lookinin]

Hello to all the helpful people on this forum. Can you someone help me with a strange problem? I've got a Nexus 5, rooted, running stock ROM, factory reset, all data erased - in other words, a clean phone.
However, I can't get the bloody thing to switch to ART runtime. Everytime I select it the phone reboots into Dalvik. Any ideas? Thanks heaps!

 

[codesplice]

Hello to all the helpful people on this forum. Can you someone help me with a strange problem? I've got a Nexus 5, rooted, running stock ROM, factory reset, all data erased - in other words, a clean phone.
However, I can't get the bloody thing to switch to ART runtime. Everytime I select it the phone reboots into Dalvik. Any ideas? Thanks heaps!

How much free space do you have? ART needs quite a bit more storage space than Dalvik, so it *could* be that it runs out of space before it finishes building the ART cache.

 

[bjacks12]

Looks like the new HTC one has ART, so to answer a concern posted a few months ago, It looks like it will be widely available.

 

[bjacks12]

Dalvik Is Dead

Hey Nickdalzell, I have some good news for you. Next version of Android is supposed to be 100% ART. No more Dalvik.

 

[codesplice]

I hate the "Dalvik is Dead" headline. So much.

1) It's not "dead". It won't be "dead" for at least 3+ years, until Dashboards | Android Developers stops showing any devices using anything but the "L" release of Android.

2) That ART is going to replace Dalvik isn't news. It was, back when 4.4 was released, but it isn't anymore. This has been known. That was the entire point of enabling ART as an option.


But I guess "Just Like We Thought ~9 Months Ago, It Looks Like ART Will Eventually Replace Dalvik As The Default Runtime On New Android Releases" doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

 

[davoid]

I hate the "Dalvik is Dead" headline

I quite like it. Alliterative simplicity and strength. Might not be true but I like it. And it reminds me of Daleks.

 

[RishiBest]

Your right ART is nothing new we've never seen before. But its only been developers to use. But at Google I/O its been announced it will be the regular runtime replacing dalvik. DALVIK IS DEAD! ART IS THE FUTURE!!!

 

[bjacks12]

Um...anybody's been able to use it.

I've been using it exclusively since it came out in November.

 

[LGnexus4]

Nexus 4 android l developer preview do u need root to get it?

 

[Rxpert83]

Nexus 4 android l developer preview do u need root to get it?

You'll need an unlocked boot loader and a custom recovery.

These are steps taken during the rooting process, but root permissions itself isnt required.

 

[bjacks12]

There is no official Developer Preview for the Nexus 4, only some hacked versions produced on XDA.