After graduating from college, I noticed that my classmates and colleagues, regardless of their income levels, had all upgraded their phones to "Apples." Whether someone was earning over ten thousand a month or just scraping by, they were all switching to iPhones. It was puzzling to me why people would spend so much money on a phone, even if they couldn't afford it. Was it just about maintaining appearances? One day, I borrowed a classmate’s iPhone 5s and spent an afternoon playing Honor of Kings. Afterward, I found myself reflecting deeply. I’ve used many Android phones, including high-end models, and I always seemed to encounter more performance issues. I scoured the internet for answers, and I kept coming across references to something called “push service.â€
Mobile Push Service
What exactly is mobile push service? It’s essentially a service where the server sends information directly to the phone in real-time. The process involves establishing a continuous connection between the phone and the server. When a message needs to be delivered, it can be sent via this connection.
[Figure 1 shows a diagram illustrating how push service works.]
Push services are actually quite useful, but some developers and service providers take advantage of them for their own benefit. Things like missed call reminders, SMS alerts, and calendar notifications are all examples of push services that we use daily. These features work fine on older phones without significant lagging issues, though sometimes the problem lies with the phone's memory or configuration. As smartphones became more popular, a flood of mobile apps entered the market, bringing along with them a host of new challenges.
When smartphones split into two main camps—Android and Apple—we noticed that the lagging issue on Android devices was significantly worse than on iOS. Why was this happening?
Before diving into the reasons, let me explain a few different types of push mechanisms.
Polling (Pull)
In this method, the app continuously sends requests to the server to check for new messages. The phone communicates directly with the server, similar to a queue system. However, if the polling frequency is too slow, messages could be delayed. On the flip side, if it’s too frequent, it could drain the phone’s battery, eat up bandwidth, and consume memory.
Establishing a Long Connection Push (Push)
This involves creating a persistent connection between the app and the server. Through this connection, the app can request data from the server, and the server can also send data back. On Android, if an app is closed, developers often launch a background service to maintain the connection.
APNS (Apple Push Notification Service)
APNS is Apple’s way of implementing push services. It’s a system-level long connection channel that connects all apps on your phone to Apple’s servers. When an app server needs to send a notification, it first sends the message to Apple’s server, which then pushes it to the user’s phone through the long connection channel and notifies the specific app. Even if multiple apps are installed on your phone, all push notifications go through one channel, saving background resources and reducing power consumption.
GCM (Google Cloud Messaging)
GCM is Google’s improved version of APNS. It operates similarly to APNS, aiming to reduce the number of apps running in the background and save device RAM. However, because Android is open-source, GCM doesn’t have the same strict enforcement as APNS.
Comparison of Android and Apple Push Modes
After explaining these push methods, you might have a better understanding of why Android phones seem to lag more than Apple ones.
In reality, Android phones don’t have to be this sluggish. There are primarily two reasons for this push mechanism.
One is that, despite Google’s optimizations with GCM, domestic Android users haven’t been able to fully utilize this system due to certain limitations. Even when some top-tier phone manufacturers have tried to implement it, it remains unstable. Moreover, due to Android’s open-source nature, developers often modify the underlying code to achieve redundant push notifications, which undermines the intended efficiency.
Additionally, the open-source nature of Android means there’s no unified standard to regulate developers’ push practices. Even if phones come pre-installed with GCM, it’s hard to fully control this behavior. This has led to cleaning software like 360 Security Guard, Tencent Butler, and Cheetah Cleaner becoming standard on Android phones. Despite their efforts to clean up background processes, the problem persists.
In contrast, Apple’s iOS system has a clear advantage here. The closed nature of the system means most apps are developed by Apple itself. Even third-party developers must adhere to Apple’s rules. Additionally, iOS doesn’t allow apps to run in the background indefinitely, eliminating the possibility of unnecessary notifications.
Setting Standards for Android Push Services
Seeing the chaos in the Android ecosystem, I was thrilled to hear that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and several major phone manufacturers were working together to establish unified push service standards for Android phones.
I learned that the Telecommunication Terminal Lab, under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, has collaborated with major domestic and international companies like Huawei, OPPO, vivo, Xiaomi, Samsung, Meizu, Jinli, Nubia, Google, Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Pinnacle, and Aurora to develop unified push service technology standards. The lab stated that major domestic manufacturers and Google experts have agreed on a future unified push system:
1) Terminal manufacturers will provide system-level push services (similar to APNS' unique push channel) to ensure apps receive their notifications.
2) Apps will no longer be allowed to keep normal connections running in the background, reducing power consumption and improving user experience.
3) Each terminal manufacturer will standardize the push channel interface and functions to make it easier for developers to integrate.
4) Third-party push service providers will also follow the unified push standards to ensure consistency and reduce developer learning costs.
This standard is quite promising and is expected to address the current Android phone push issues and contribute to building a healthier Android ecosystem. Perhaps, in the near future, Android phones will experience a renaissance!
Although I still prefer my iPhone, I’m hopeful that this move will bring about positive changes for Android users worldwide.
Optical Fiber Cable Accessories
Optical Fiber Cable Accessories,Nfc Nylon And Steel Tension Clamp,High Quality Anchor Clamp,Nylon Wedge Clamp For Adss Cable
Shahe Yipeng Import and Export trading Co., LTD , https://www.yppolelinehardware.com