My mobile dissconnects often, change to Samsung Galaxy note 3 OR Galaxy S4+ ??

[Filmon]

Hello,

I am a beginner in programming with App inventor and I am currently working with a quite advanced app that is getting bigger and bigger.

I am using a HUAWEI mobile (I don't remember the modele) and the RAM memory is 512 MB and CPU is: Dual core 1,0 GHz.

I have had this mobile for over 12 months now and it is getting slower. And as my app is getting bigger the mobile often disconnects from the Al companion connection with my Mac (about 5 years old IMac)

Question #1 Do you think the disconnection problem would be solved when working with my app if I by a better mobilephone with better RAM and CPU ?

Question #2 Anyone having this kind of problem that while working with your app, Al companion often disconnects or your mobile does not update the screen when you make a major change in App inventor 2 ?

Question #3 Wich one of these mobiles would be enough to get the highest performance ? Galaxy note 3 has 2,3 GHz processor and is a quad core, AND 3 GB RAM.  --- The Galaxy S4+ has 2,3 GHz processor but 2 GB RAM

Please give also comments what mobile you are using and how the al companion connection works for you.

Thanks a lot!

Regards Filmon

[SteveJG]

How large is the project that is getting bigger and bigger?  If your aia is larger then 5Mb it will no longer compile. Do you have more than 10 screens?   More than 10 may significantly slow down screen changes and in most instances will also cause AI2 instability and crashes of the emulator.

Here are some guidelines:

1) The more images you have, the longer it takes the screen in both WIFI and the emulator to refresh.

2) The more controls you have, the longer it takes to refresh

3) The more blocks you have, the longer it takes a screen to render.

It does not matter whether you have a phone with a fast cpu and lots of processing memory or not (or at least the issue is not significant in most cases). Everyone has these issues when their project gets large.

If you notice, whenever you add a button or a label, the screen refreshes.  The larger the project the longer it takes to process your instructions to add the control.   However, if you change other code in your Project,

there is no lag.   Is not this true in your Project?

A partial solution is to get a more sophisticated emulator than the one that loads with AI2 (this is the standard emulator provided by Google).  Enis mentions one by someone called GennyMotion or something like that.   You could try using that emulator before you buy a new phone.

The solution I use is to NOT  to   Connect > AI Companion    or  Connect>Emulator  while you are making design changes that affect the screen layout.   Make the changes on the AI2 browser, make other changes, then when you are satisfied with the changes,  CONNECT  and look at your work.     No lag, you just have to have confidence in your coding.  You can code without being connected to your device or emulator!

Be aware, EVERYONE has this connecting issue where it takes longer and longer for the development Android screen to refresh when the number of objects on the screen increases.  Some of the issue might be related to how much memory you have in your Mac (and others the PC) and its processor; however this possible hardware issue is relatively minor compared to the fact that it takes time to process the AI2 instructions that place objects on the development screen phone or emulator.

Perhaps someone has other advice.   Good luck.

Regards,

Steve

[Filmon]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for your answer. I didn't see it before now. I now understand that I have to connect my device only after major changes and not all the time as I used to do. It was only when I did big changes in AI2 that the connection between my device and aI companion failed. So at this moment I don't need to buy another phone.

Thanks.