Performance: intolerably slow when switching between blocks on an older device

[designsimply]

The new block editor has had a terrible impact on app performance. I have an older phone, and the app is almost intolerably slow, especially when switching between blocks. The classic editor also had performance problems on my phone, but only when I was working on a post with more than about 2000 words. Importantly, I do not notice intolerable slowness with any other app. Other functions of the app are quite useful and convenient.

• 3-star app review Sep 3, 2020 at 11:51 AM
• Device: moto e(5) play (james)
• OS: Android 8.0
• WPAndroid: 15.5.1

There are more similar examples in app reviews. I will try to catalog them here going forward.

^{(internal reference: play-store-reviewid=gp:AOqpTOEO1tPe_DcpJzFbufy1ngfBUt1ZL3uNXNd_DZnc3LtV0w4g_oDi2ylpunRVQ6zgXb9IJ7Freb0zhtFjzw)}

[designsimply]

Closed wordpress-mobile/WordPress-Android#12907 as a duplicate.

^{(Also see internal reference: p9ugOq-1gR-p2#comment-2565.)}

[rezzap]

There seems to be another report of this in 3313671-zen.

it's extremely bad on the phone. Especially the toolbar. For any change I want to make (moving to another paragraph, choose an element from the toolbar, sometimes even deleting words) I have to wait between 10 to 20 sec.

They also mention this issue, which might be better reported elsewhere but I'm not sure if we have an open issue for this one which was also mentioned in #12907 (the resizing of the block when typing):

So, when writing longer posts, the app crashes. It doesn't let you add new paragraphs or it lets you do it, but without seeing what you write while doing it.

WP Android 15.6
Android device name: Samsung SM-N960F

Logs are in the ticket referenced and I'll be asking some follow up questions for more details.

[mdrockwell]

More info from user referenced in @rezzap's comment above — 3313671-zen

They provided three videos with the following info:

The mobile device I work on is a Samsung Note 9 with Android version 9.
In the second video, though I don't know if you can tell, in those moments when nothing happens, I actually pressed a button (enter, add block or BOLD), but the app responds slowly.

Video 1: https://d.pr/v/LxxShn
Video 2: https://d.pr/v/QYPEmw
Video 3: https://d.pr/v/yvqL8r

[tarunvijwani]

Another report: 3332233-zen

Hello, I’ve been having issues with writing my blog posts the past few days. The app won’t allow me to type and when it does it is really laggy and doesn’t show what I’ve just typed. I’ve had to be writing the content in notes and then copying and pasting it over. It’s taking me a lot longer to get my blog posts wrote.

[rossanafmenezes]

Another report here 3554112-zen

Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0
Android Version 7.0
WP version 16.2

[kbrown9]

A related performance problem is that block resizing sometimes significantly lags as text is typed. When this occurs, the author cannot see the new line of the text that they’re typing.

Steps to reproduce:

1. In a post or page, add a new Paragraph block.
2. Type enough text to create multiple lines in the Paragraph block. On the device I used for testing, after the 3rd line of text, there is a very noticeable lag before the text on the next line is displayed.

Devices Tested

This problem does appear to be related to the device.

Reproducible on:

Device: Moto g5 plus
OS: Android 8.1.0
WPAndroid: 18.1

Not reproducible on:

Device: Samsung Galaxy S8
OS: 9.0
WPAndroid: 18.1

Other reports:

Issue #12907 in the WordPress-Android repo (See the second bullet point in the Steps to Reproduce section.)

Excerpt from an App review from Aug. 10, 2021:

for some reason when I'm typing in the text blocks it won't display the next line right away which is really time consuming as well as frustrating since i can't see the word on the next line until i have added a couple words beside it, then it appears and reveals all the spelling mistakes and typos i made XD

^{(internal reference: play-store-reviewid=gp%3AAOqpTOHGTI67ZwiArAwNpaMTvJsrCFeYUU-o8PcAZleA3zWitcx625CEjIonlVqMTqAh1B1llQrLoyftja50Bg)}

[hypest]

I'm able to reproduce on my Android 8.0 Galaxy S7edge. Here's a video of the lag, which is not super bad (at least on my device) but still easily noticeable (se mostly around timestamp ~8secs in):

2021_09_15_11_26_07_trim.mp4

[kbrown9]

The lag is also reproducible on this newer device:

Device: Samsung A11
OS: Android 10
WPAndroid: 18.1

[erricgunawan]

Found this report when searching for this issue: wordpress-mobile/WordPress-Android#9811

I'm not sure if it's the same or related, though.

[erricgunawan]

A report from 4870391-zen:

I am trying to write a post and the app is lagging. I had hit the tab button to start a new paragraph and it's not opening the block. This happens almost every time I post. I usually have to wait close to five minutes before it finally opens the next block.

I have used the app on my phone and tablet. On my home wifi, work wifi and on data. I only ever add one picture to my posts, either before I start writing or after I've finished the post and it lags either way.

It only happens when I'm writing a new post. I posted some pictures below, the problem usually happens going from that first block that says Hi, and trying to open the next block below it to keep writing. My phone or tablet will lag for a few minutes before it will finally open that next block. If I click on the screen a second time, thinking I forgot to tap to open the next block then I will get a bunch of blocks that open.

Screenshots:

They shared this as their current workaround:

I have started to just fully write out the post and then go back later and separate the paragraphs into each block using the enter key where I want it separated. Which is fine, but if there's something I can do to make it stop lagging that would be great!

Asking for the device and OS info.

[erricgunawan]

3-star Android app review:

The post updates hang a lot. The cross platform sync worls terribly. After I hit the enter key for a new paragraph in the post editor, it takes a long time to process. As I writer, I expected the post editor to be a little more faster and not hang so much.

[erricgunawan]

3-star Android app review:

App is prone to crash a lot of times. And editing is such a burden, the application keeps dancing whist editing. Requires a lot of times to hop to another paragraphs. Too frustrating and obnoxious

[kbrown9]

I've been able to replicate the lagging issues described above on a fairly new device:

Device: Samsung A13 5G
OS: Android 11
WPAndroid: 19.6

[erricgunawan]

5175531-zen:

... the app has constant and long delays when I edit a post, not always large, usually without images, but for a period of approximately two hours.

..., I already tried using mobile data and another network, but the slowness persists.

When I use the web version I have no problems. But I use the mobile version a lot. Even after subscribing to a plan that basically only got me a unique domain for a limited time, I still got an app that is basic and slow. The problem also persists when I create a page. Simply the cursor stays in a block of text and when I try to edit another nothing happens. When I want to save the changes it only gets worse. The page freezes waiting to be saved.
I was very dissatisfied, especially when I have another option for my website to be more complete, cheaper, more efficient and easier to use.

WordPress - 19.6 - Version code: 1199
Android device name: Samsung SM-A217M

Simple Site on Premium plan

Edited to add an update from the customer:
The app version is the latest
My device is a Samsung A21S
Android version is the latest

All pages are slow.
And it's getting worse.

[erricgunawan]

I like the format of this app and I wanted to get a more accurate reading of what data I use instead of using the browser. However the app is very slow and clunky. As I'm typing in the block and reach the end of the block, it doesn't open up as I am typing more. Also the app is often unresponsive even though Android isn't picking up on that. I have had to force close the app in order to continue. It makes it difficult when typing a blog and takes longer.

^{3-star app review - Samsung Galaxy A03s, WPAndroid 19.9, Android 11 (SDK 30)}

^{play-store-reviewId=gp%3AAOqpTOGUKaykxty2dsdZaz9RA4rUXap77exvY0OjmMGijfmQCrRJz3_7RUUCTu5w3oDzLvhtITYqx26vFptkcg}

[erricgunawan]

1-star Android app review:

The app is very annoying. I'll try to type in the box and it takes forever for the box to move down to what I'm currently typing which completely trips me up. I'll click to add a new paragraph block and it'll take a minute and then suddenly I have several blocks. Tapping the blocks to write in takes forever as well. I would not reccomend this app, honestly I'd reccomend blogger over wordpress at this point.

Device: Samsung Galaxy Tab A (2016)
App version code: 1272
App version name: 20.7
Android version: Android 8.1 (SDK 27)

^{play-store-reviewId=b0465c69-9e5b-4de5-801a-7224eeff94ba}

[erricgunawan]

A little buggy. Lags quite a bit, especially once a draft begins to fill with content. For me, it slows down so much that I'm forced to wait until it jumps to the next line and the cursor reappears. Starts scrolling by itself etc.

^{3-star app review - Blu C5L Max, WPAndroid 20.8.1, Android 11 (SDK 30)}

^{play-store-reviewId=7dc64869-52b8-4e8b-bebb-68fe7fc2ee80}

[erricgunawan]

3-star Android app review (translated):

When I write a long article, the behavior starts to bug, and line breaks and cursor alignment become extremely slow. If you hit repeatedly while getting frustrated, after a while, you'll suddenly end up with lines equal to the number of times you hit repeatedly. Turning it off is also too slow and takes time. It doesn't have to be a short article. Well, the specifications of wordpress may not be suitable for writing long articles on the app. I'd like to write on an app because it's easier to type on a smartphone than on a PC, but I guess that's not possible.

_{play-store-reviewId=f1f10994-e1b7-4ff5-bb35-a90ee047c79c}

[erricgunawan]

7394449-zen:

I have the android Jetpack for WordPress app and it is incredibly slow after writing a couple of paragraphs. There is a 2 minute (at least) lag when entering a new paragraph and by the time a 1000 words has been written it is painfully slow that I have to stop writing and come back another day.
This also happens on the iOS app.