Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Will Bring Smoother UI Experience – GPU Accleration Turned On By Default

A couple of Android engineers, the Romain Guy and Chet Haase made an interesting post today on Android Developers. As if I needed another reason to drool over Android 4.0, turns out that for the first time ever — Ice Cream Sandwich will turn on hardware acceleration by default. This is the same hardware acceleration found in Android 3.2 for tablets but in that version, it required a developer had to enable GPU acceleration with a simple line of code.

So, what does this mean for the regular ‘ol end-user like you and me? Well, this will translate into an all around smoother and faster UI. Things like menu’s, scrolling and various animations should be more fluid and responsive in all apps regardless of whether a developer enables GPU acceleration or not. It’s one small step for man but a huge leap for Android.

If there’s one thing that’s always irked me about the Android UI, it’s the fact that in most cases, it’s choppy. Having a smooth and responsive UI is actually one of the (very) few things I envy about iOS or WP7. Just add this to the ever growing list of reasons why I absolutely cannot wait for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Hardware acceleration? Check! V’room v’room!

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