It doesn’t matter how many cores the mobile device’s processor contains, and how much RAM is in the gadget, you always need to be prepared for the moment when its speed will cease to be optimal. Many users complain that smartphones and tablets released several years ago cease to meet the requirements of modern OS and applications. As a result, everyone comes to one solution - optimizing Android will help. How to do this can be found in this article.
Optimization Methods
Firstly, I want to mention that a large number of programs and utilities are created daily by users and developers, which, according to the authors, will help speed up the device’s performance. In fact, no more than 5-10% of such applications have efficiency. The most effective will be listed below.
In addition, there are a number of ways by which the best optimization of Android will be achieved. These methods are just a detailed system setup through the developer tools. Android is an open operating system, which is why everyone can make changes.
Android: optimization using third-party programs
So, we sorted out the dispatcher. It's time to talk about speeding up the device using third-party programs. As mentioned above, up to 10% of optimization applications are effective. The fact is that, most often, such utilities simply “clear” the task manager, and this is where the functionality ends. There are more radical means, which, for example, can clean the OS of “garbage” that has accumulated as a result of working on the Internet and with unknown sources. To choose such a utility correctly, analyze the rating of applications in the Play Market. The program for optimizing Android with the best indicators of the number of downloads, rating and user reviews is what you need.
"Task Manager"
Any device running Android OS, starting with version 4.0 of Ice Cream Sandwich, has the so-called “Task Manager” or “Desktop Window Manager”. It exists in order to quickly switch between applications that were previously running on the Android device. Optimization of the device, according to many, directly depends on the location of the "windows" in this application. The bottom line is: if you "clear" the dispatcher from the applications located in it, then the device will work faster. In fact, this statement is only part of the truth.
The fact is that the "Task Manager" indicates those applications that were used on the device before, but were minimized or closed. If the “Home” button on the device was pressed, the OS will try to “minimize” the application to the background. If the gadget has enough RAM, then the program or game will really collapse, leaving it running exactly the moment at which it was minimized. In this case, the “Android” optimization directly depends on the “throwing out” of this application from the dispatcher. The program is closed - RAM is freed, the device thinks less.
Another thing is when the device does not have enough RAM to keep the application in the background. Just then, what can be seen in the task manager is just a reference to programs and games that were previously launched on the device. “Throwing away” such windows will not accelerate the performance of a smartphone or tablet.
Background Process Limit
From the past method, it becomes clear that the best program for optimizing Android is the operating system itself with its built-in tools. This method will be optimal for those who have a large amount of RAM, but do not want to “butt” with the application manager. So, a brief description of the method:
- Go to the settings of the device, at the very bottom, select "About the device."
- In the open menu, find the line “Build number” (less often - “MIUI version” or another shell used on the device).
- Seven times in a row, quickly click on this item, after which the message "You have become a developer!"
- Return to the main settings menu, in which select "For Developers".
- Select the “Background processes limit” tab, in which you should indicate the maximum allowed number of running background processes.
If you select the item “Without background processes”, the device will no longer be able to save data about at what stage the application was before closing, as a result, each program or game will have to be restarted, spending time on this.
Work with animation
Any device running Android is primarily configured to work using animation and beautiful transition effects between different menus. But these processes spend precious moments of time even on powerful devices, not to mention budget devices. In the end, you can try to turn off or speed up the animation to find a compromise. In order to do this, a couple of simple steps are required:
- Get access to the developer's menu (description in the previous paragraph).
- In the “For Developers” menu, find the sub-items “Window: scale”, “Transition: scale” and “Animation speed”.
If you want to turn off absolutely all transition effects, you should select the value 0 in each paragraph, and if the desired result is the optimization of Android without turning off the effects, you can choose the value 0.5 and speed up the animation.
Some more tips
It is very difficult to understand how complex the Android system is. Its optimization is a separate question, the answer to which is not always possible to obtain only by downloading the utility or disabling the transition animation. Much depends on little things that are almost invisible to the eye.
Here are some professional tips that can help speed up the device:
- Do not use “live” wallpapers, they literally kill speed and energy saving.
- Avoid using widgets or, in extreme cases, disable those that are rarely used.
- Disabling cached processes and applications that are launched by the system (you should be careful and not disrupt the operation of the “Android” as a whole).
- Do not litter the file system with unnecessary files and information; if possible, remove “garbage” and unused applications.
Tracking result
In order to understand whether any of the selected actions helped, it is worth turning to special utilities. These utilities are called benchmarks and can be downloaded from the Play Market application. Most often they are free.
The principle of operation of benchmarks is the assessment of the speed of execution of certain processes by the device in numerical form. That is, the larger the rating number, the faster the device works and less freezes. Accordingly, before you start conducting "dancing with a tambourine" over the device, you should download the benchmark and evaluate the performance of the device. After any of the actions described above, it is worth starting the test again and see if this action gave a result. The information received will always be helpful in case of buying a new device.
I would like to note that the optimization of the Android phone is not the most difficult process, almost anyone can take it on their own. That is why before you swear at the manufacturer of the device and say that "such a device would not want to the enemy", it is worth thinking about trying to fix everything with your own hands.