Target app: slow and battery-eating on some Android smartphones

[jackandcat]

I've noticed that more than any other app on my smartphone (Samsung Galaxy S-5) the Target app runs very slowly between screens. When running, battery consumption increases.

I know that designers are anally focused on a military arms race approach to increasing functions on these apps, but it's irresponsible to assume that each and every guest uses the newest top-of-the-line smartphone. Not all Target guests are anal about changing their phones every six months. If it ain't broke, don't change it.

Since there doesn't seem to be any communication "suggestion line" channel between store team members and corporate, is there any likelihood someone at corporate might actually consider how many guests - particularly those who AREN'T "Karen" - are annoyed at the poky and inefficient manner way the Target app actually runs on their smartphones?

 

[Mikuhl]

They literally cant update the one on the Zebra phones because of just how little ram they have. Its quite funny. I think its more likely just the insane amount of requests the app is sending to ad companies.

 

[Bosch]

S5? Damn I thought my S7 was old.. You are lucky it runs at all. Stuff is made with some hand to the older phones but you are reaching with that one.

And spot doesn't give a shit cause most apps are designed to run on iOS and most others come second.

 

[Planosss]

What is an “Android”?

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

What is an “Android”?

Android is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open source software, designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android is developed by a consortium of developers known as the Open Handset Alliance, with the main contributor and commercial marketer being Google.[10]
Initially developed by Android Inc., which Google bought in 2005, Android was unveiled in 2007, with the first commercial Android device launched in September 2008. The current stable version is Android 10, released on September 3, 2019. The core Android source code is known as Android Open Source Project (AOSP), which is primarily licensed under the Apache License. This has allowed variants of Android to be developed on a range of other electronics, such as game consoles, digital cameras, PCs and others, each with a specialized user interface. Some well known derivatives include Android TV for televisions and Wear OS for wearables, both developed by Google.

Android's source code has been used as the basis of different ecosystems, most notably that of Google which is associated with a suite of proprietary software called Google Mobile Services (GMS),[11] that frequently comes pre-installed on said devices. This includes core apps such as Gmail, the digital distribution platform Google Play and associated Google Play Servicesdevelopment platform, and usually apps such as the Google Chrome web browser. These apps are licensed by manufacturers of Android devices certified under standards imposed by Google. Other competing Android ecosystems include Amazon.com's Fire OS, or LineageOS. Software distribution is generally offered through proprietary application stores like Google Play Store or Samsung Galaxy Store, or open source platforms like Aptoide or F-Droid, which utilize software packages in the APK format.

Android has been the best-selling OS worldwide on smartphones since 2011 and on tablets since 2013. As of May 2017, it has over two billion monthly active users, the largest installed base of any operating system, and as of January 2020, the Google Play Store features over 2.9 million apps.[12]

 

[Mikuhl]

And spot doesn't give a shit cause most apps are designed to run on iOS and most others come second.

This is why we need Flutter.

 

[IWishIKnew]

It's not realistic to expect any app developer to continue to support old devices. It's not about age, really, it's about users. There are thousands of mobile device & OS combinations, and there's no way any app developer can test and develop for them all. So, they look at user stats--once a device and/or OS drops below a certain percentage of users, they no longer test for it specifically.

At least that's the way it works at my day job, with our web site/app testing.

 

[Mikuhl]

It's not realistic to expect any app developer to continue to support old devices. It's not about age, really, it's about users. There are thousands of mobile device & OS combinations, and there's no way any app developer can test and develop for them all. So, they look at user stats--once a device and/or OS drops below a certain percentage of users, they no longer test for it specifically.

At least that's the way it works at my day job, with our web site/app testing.

myStore runs on Android 4.1 and up thanks to Flutter

 

[Tessa120]

It's like being upset that the programs won't run right on a 20 year old computer running Windows XP. Phone software is evolving fast, phone hardware is evolving faster, and it's in line with the world. It wasn't that long ago that the brand new jump drives were an amazing 128 MB. Now I've seen a few 1 TB jump drives, same physical size.

Have you ever seen those X-Y graphs where the line starts out going up with little change to X but then the rate accelerates until it becomes huge changes to X with little change to Y? That's computer hardware, and software matches it.

If you want to hold onto an older phone, no one is forcing you to change. But you cannot expect that computer software will not evolve and will stay stagnant to match your phone. And at a certain point a phone is "broken" simply due to age. Think of those jumble of computer parts in some relative's house that are mechanically sound and will still function if hooked up to a proper power source but could not even run a word processing program.

 

[flow4areasonuno]

It's like being upset that the programs won't run right on a 20 year old computer running Windows XP. Phone software is evolving fast, phone hardware is evolving faster, and it's in line with the world. It wasn't that long ago that the brand new jump drives were an amazing 128 MB. Now I've seen a few 1 TB jump drives, same physical size.

Have you ever seen those X-Y graphs where the line starts out going up with little change to X but then the rate accelerates until it becomes huge changes to X with little change to Y? That's computer hardware, and software matches it.

If you want to hold onto an older phone, no one is forcing you to change. But you cannot expect that computer software will not evolve and will stay stagnant to match your phone. And at a certain point a phone is "broken" simply due to age. Think of those jumble of computer parts in some relative's house that are mechanically sound and will still function if hooked up to a proper power source but could not even run a word processing program.

I still plan to keep my Windows 8 desktop as long as possible. Anything to avoid the autoupdate of Windows 10...had too many computers bricked by that hot mess, and I can't make it ignore updates. If the new tech broke less often I'd probably be using it.

As for phones, I do the same. But I don't need to do much on my phone, it's a $40 LG I got from Target

 

[Tessa120]

8? Blech. During the 4-5 months I had it my Windows 8 computer crashed a lot, especially during updates, forcing a factory reset at one point. Windows 10 is a dream when it comes to stability. My only complaint is how it's incrementally forcing users away from Control Panel to Settings, which doesn't have the wide variety of information and options Control Panel does.

If you absolutely don't want Windows 10 and will fight until Windows 12 comes out (assuming the good operating system is followed by a bad one and in turn followed by a good one pattern holds true) then think about backtracking to Windows 7. You probably aren't aware of how many things are not running nearly as smoothly as they should.

 

[flow4areasonuno]

8? Blech. During the 4-5 months I had it my Windows 8 computer crashed a lot, especially during updates, forcing a factory reset at one point. Windows 10 is a dream when it comes to stability. My only complaint is how it's incrementally forcing users away from Control Panel to Settings, which doesn't have the wide variety of information and options Control Panel does.

If you absolutely don't want Windows 10 and will fight until Windows 12 comes out (assuming the good operating system is followed by a bad one and in turn followed by a good one pattern holds true) then think about backtracking to Windows 7. You probably aren't aware of how many things are not running nearly as smoothly as they should.

This new one has double the RAM, so it's still faster and smoother than the 7 I had before, or I would. For the money it was better, and (thanks to the spot) I have little of that.