Chrome 32 for Android (currently in beta) offers a much faster and fluid experience. The browser really feels much speedier – but what is the reason? Do pages load faster? Does it take better advantage of hardware. Not at all, Google improved its browser by removing a 300 ms touch delay, which is intentionally put on mobile browsers.
Now, when you think about it, 300 ms doesn’t sound like much, but it makes a huge difference when trying to operate a device. Just consider how much gamers complain over 10-20 ms of lag in a controller. If you want to see just how much of a difference those 300 ms make, here is a demonstration.
Now, the video is not exactly as fair as it should be, because you can clearly see the use didn’t press the buttons continuously in the left side. But put attention to how long the letters take to light up after the tap. You will notice a huge lag in the phone with the 300 ms lag.
Why do browsers have the 300 ms lag?
It seems silly to think that browsers are purposely being slowed down, but this delay has an important function. Many of us use double-tap-to-zoom while browsing sites that are not mobile-optimized. One way to do this is by double-tapping. In short, this delay is meant to be the browser’s way of finding out if a regular tap will become a double-tap.
Users will still be able to use pinch-to-zoom, but the double-tapping feature will be gone. I say most of us won’t mind, though, considering the improved performance. Will you be missing the double-tap to zoom feature?
