Note that you’re still looking at slightly-better-than-iPhone-7 perf on any new Android device, courtesy of Qualcomm. That is indeed an adequate level of performance for Discourse …
… but it is also … four years behind.
Also, data confirmed with my Xiaomi Mi 9 (Snapdragon 855) Android device, updated to latest everything:
Retesting this device now on Android 11, latest updates - now 22
And now the latest high-end phone from Google…
Google Pixel 5 - Snapdragon 765G - 25.5
Wow. That iPhone 12 Pro outperforms my fairly fancy new desktop with Core™ i7-10700F CPU @ 2.90GHz and a GPU (don’t know if that matters). That’s crazy.
Scores above 140 don’t really matter too much, if that helps 
… there’s a reason the graph “maxes out” at 140.
It’s the scores at ~70 and even lower that need some lovin’. And 70 is adequate for Discourse, for sure.
Retesting the Google Pixel 5 (same device) - 11 months later:
Gone from 25.5 to 31.2.
Latest (public) Android 11 OS / Chrome / software updates applied.
With the latest (public) Android 13 OS update out and I thought I would do this again on the same Google Pixel 5 device.
So this time from 31.2 (Android 11) to 35.3 (Android 13).
There has been a little excitement on the JavaScript engine / runtime front - at least from the “competition is good” point of view.
Experimental software Bun has shown itself to be a real performance winner at some benchmarks:
This making real desktop JavaScript development productivity enhancements:
So “just maybe” there is a potential for these engine developments / lessons to trickle into Chrome / Android / V8 teams?
“Hopes and dreams”
“Android 42 (Life) OS update - doubles battery life of devices by replacing JavaScript engine.”
Yes, thanks for that update! It’s good to see the software improving, even if the Qualcomm hardware is still quite poor relative to Apple’s hardware. The most recent Apple devices produce around ~300-400 in Speedometer, whereas the most recent Qualcomm hardware is ~100-130. So that’s a near 4x difference, same as it ever was.
On the Chrome side, Sparkplug produced a noticeable bump in JS performance in mid-2021, circa Chrome 91.
At least 50 is decent, and 100 is “speedy enough”, so we are past the threshold of acceptable Discourse performance for Android… most of the time. There is a lot of old Android stuff out there.
Google Pixel 6a
(Android 13)
Unbelievable value. A snappy, well built phone, that is very comfortable in the hand, has great battery life and clearly fast enough for Discourse.
Really puts a big question mark over Apple prices imho!
For reference an Apple Watch scores 20 on Speedometer these days.
Not a ton has changed since 2019, except hopefully more people have 855 (late 2018) or better hardware.
But my Pixel 6a cost ~$350 
(Does cost of 13 Pro Max + $350 get you a 14 Pro Max? 
)
And you simply don’t need this level of Javascript performance for a Discourse client (nice as it is).
And this is my issue with Apple.
Their “value” SE phone (+ $100) isn’t really good value at all. It is way behind on aesthetic, features and screen size. Heck my little Pixel has no notch, slim bezels, fast charging and a USB C port! 
Maybe Apple will get away with this for now, but wallets are tightening, they may have to respond.
I just can’t believe they’ve ‘normalised’ the $1k+ phone! 
Except for the USB-C port, where Lightning is definitely an annoyance – if bang for the buck is the primary criteria, you can buy an iPhone that’s several generations old (even all the way back to the iPhone 11) and it still blows every Android device ever made (!) out of the water in terms of performance. Used iPhones are your best value on a bang for the buck basis… it’s not even close.
Plus, Apple themselves continue to sell the 12 and 13 at lower prices as their “value” offerings, and you don’t give up much other than incremental camera improvements.
It’s just such an awful shame that Android effectively only has Qualcomm for SOCs. I’m very glad Google has finally woken up and is making their own SOCs at last, but … we’ll see. Samsung’s own SOCs have been marginal at best:
If you can find a nice boxed 12 that is indeed a great alternative.
Pretty much, yes. Looking around I can see the 13 Pro Max going for ~$599 new, which leaves me $50 for a snazzy case.
What about MediaTek? They stepped up their game recently.
Hopefully! Anything that brings meaningful competition to the Android SoCs space is quite welcome.
)