iOS app response times (April 2022)

It’s a commonly reported issue with the iOS mobile app is slower to respond and initialize when compared to the Anrdoid app. @garrett.kranz had shared some insight into this last year about the difference in their architectures and memory in Android vs iOS.

So for purposes of comparison I decided to test the latest version of the iOS app with an older version of the iOS app

Here are the results of when I opened the SmartThings mobile app (both iPhone are connected to the same Wifi network):

  1. (Overnight warm start) Leaving the phone overnight, open the mobile app and then clicking on the “hub” to open the device page.

    • iOS version 1.6.82-629 (iPhone 12 pro) - 7 seconds (with network connection warning page for about 5 seconds before then opening the device page). Subsequently reopening
    • iOS version 1.6.67-520 (iPhone 7) - 2 seconds
    • iOS version 1.6.67-520 (iPhone 6s) - 2 seconds
  2. (Cold start) Kill the mobile app, open the mobile app and then clicking on the “hub” to open the device page.

    • iOS version 1.6.82-629 (iPhone 12 pro) - 10 seconds (with network connection warning page for about 5 seconds before then opening the device page). Subsequently reopening
    • iOS version 1.6.67-520 (iPhone 7) - 2 seconds
    • iOS version 1.6.67-520 (iPhone 6s) - 2 seconds

This video was created with Scenario 2 cold start (kill the SmartThings mobile app and start it fresh), the phone on the left is the iPhone 7 running 1.6.67-520 and the phone on the right is iPhone 12 pro running 1.6.82-629 (the iPhone 6s was too slow for a cold start so it didn’t make for a good benchmark)

Part 2: Custom devices, this video was created with Scenario 2 cold start (kill the SmartThings mobile app and start it fresh), the phone on the left is the iPhone 7 running 1.6.67-520 and the phone on the right is iPhone 12 pro running 1.6.82-629

It looks like the older iOS apps were much faster than the newer ones (even with more RAM available on newer iPhones). So I do know that the SmartThings iOS mobile app is capable of excellent response times. @SamsungZell

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Good demonstration! Can you also add as a data point how many devices you have in that SmartThings location? It’s thought that the mobile app queries device status for ALL devices at the location at once instead of only the device shown on the screen, so more devices adds to the delay.

(You can also un-tag Brad, he no longer works for SmartThings)

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Agreed. I have about 325 devices and my response time on an iPhone 12 Pro Max is significantly worse than shown above.

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Yeah I realized that as soon I made the video. 10 in one account vs 34 in the other. Nothing drastic. I redid the test with the same account on both phones and posted the new video above (with custom devices this time).

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I have about 80 devices in one of my locations currently (# of devices reduced due to upcoming move, 3 locations total). On my iPhone 13 Pro Max, from cold start to loading a device detail page (choosing the device from my favorites screen) takes from 15-30 seconds depending on the device. something simple like a light is at the lower end and something more complicated like the hub is at the upper end.

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Thanks, this is great data and confirms my experience. The “new” app had worked ok initially (still not as fast as the Classic one, but not terrible), but then took a shit around June of last year. I had thought others had given up on frustrations with the iOS app, and I was the only one left complaining. As you can see from another post I had, Smartthings does not consider this a bug or an issue, it is to be expected. Hands down the most disappointing mobile app I’ve ever used.

Any thoughts on how we can influence Smartthings to make some changes to improve the app performance? I can see they have no intention of addressing my many cases any further. You all are Community Masters and developers, and I would think you have some pull to get to the right people at ST for improvement, yes?

They have said in the past that they closely monitor App Store ratings.

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My one-star review has been in forever. Ironically, I think I got a response that asked me to put in a case. :slight_smile: