Android google app - wot's it do?

[Cycleops]

Me? I prefer the search results inside chrome.

Same difference, the two are interconnected so perhaps that’s why you can’t delete Google, not that Google would allow you to do that anyway Their OS so you take their search engine which unfortunately will gather all your data as it goes.

 

[MartinQ]

Same difference, the two are interconnected so perhaps that’s why you can’t delete Google, not that Google would allow you to do that anyway Their OS so you take their search engine which unfortunately will gather all your data as it goes.

I agree, it's more on the formatting of the output. I just prefer the chrome web formatting. I guess they collect similar data whichever you use.

 

[mjr]

Same difference, the two are interconnected so perhaps that’s why you can’t delete Google, not that Google would allow you to do that anyway Their OS so you take their search engine which unfortunately will gather all your data as it goes.

Not true. The only reason it can't be deleted is it was preinstalled. I have installed Android onto devices without the Google app and it works fine, although it has no search box on the home screen. The app itself seems not very well written and I've caught it leaking memory on other people's phones.

 

[ClichéGuevara]

Not true. The only reason it can't be deleted is it was preinstalled. I have installed Android onto devices without the Google app and it works fine, although it has no search box on the home screen. The app itself seems not very well written and I've caught it leaking memory on other people's phones.

Please excuse my ignorance, but what does this look like and mean, and how would I check if it's happening?

Are you saying you having it affects others, or that when it's on a phone, it drains memory on that phone?

 

[ColinJ]

I think there is something iffy about that Google app too. I find it useful, but my phone gradually slows down over a period of time. I clear out all the memory being used by the app and reboot the phone. It speeds up for a while, but after a week or two it starts to get sluggish again.

What do I mean by 'sluggish'? Well, as an example, I was watching a film with Jodie Foster in last night. She was made up to look quite old and I wondered how old she actually is**. I whipped out my phone, clicked on the Google app text box, and waited, and waited, and... after about 20 seconds the onscreen keyboard finally popped up!

I cleared the memory and rebooted the phone a couple of hours ago. Let's try again... Yeah, 1 second this time rather than 20!



** I guessed late 50s - correct - 58!

 

[mjr]

Please excuse my ignorance, but what does this look like and mean, and how would I check if it's happening?

Are you saying you having it affects others, or that when it's on a phone, it drains memory on that phone?

when it's on a phone, it drains memory on that phone. I see other phones because some people ask me to take a look at theirs. This was a fun problem to investigate!

You can see some of the effects in the app's storage use. Go to Settings: Apps: Google: Storage and cache, and if it is a buggy version, its cache just seems to grow and grow. The actual memory use is in Settings: Developer Options: Memory: Memory use by apps, but you have to switch developer options on to get that, usually by tapping the build number in Settings: About repeatedly.

If you have one of the buggier versions of that app, it means the phone gets slower and slower the more you use the Google search bar (or I think voice assistant too), basically. The phone may also freeze or stop other apps to make room, so opening apps gets slower like described above. In extreme cases, a warning to delete some apps is shown.

Some of the manufacturers seem to have preloaded worse ones than others.

 

[ClichéGuevara]

when it's on a phone, it drains memory on that phone. I see other phones because some people ask me to take a look at theirs. This was a fun problem to investigate!

You can see some of the effects in the app's storage use. Go to Settings: Apps: Google: Storage and cache, and if it is a buggy version, its cache just seems to grow and grow. The actual memory use is in Settings: Developer Options: Memory: Memory use by apps, but you have to switch developer options on to get that, usually by tapping the build number in Settings: About repeatedly.

If you have one of the buggier versions of that app, it means the phone gets slower and slower the more you use the Google search bar (or I think voice assistant too), basically. The phone may also freeze or stop other apps to make room, so opening apps gets slower like described above. In extreme cases, a warning to delete some apps is shown.

Some of the manufacturers seem to have preloaded worse ones than others.

Cheers. I'll check mine out and see if I'm getting similar issues.

 

[swee'pea99]

when it's on a phone, it drains memory on that phone. I see other phones because some people ask me to take a look at theirs. This was a fun problem to investigate!

You can see some of the effects in the app's storage use. Go to Settings: Apps: Google: Storage and cache, and if it is a buggy version, its cache just seems to grow and grow. The actual memory use is in Settings: Developer Options: Memory: Memory use by apps, but you have to switch developer options on to get that, usually by tapping the build number in Settings: About repeatedly.

If you have one of the buggier versions of that app, it means the phone gets slower and slower the more you use the Google search bar (or I think voice assistant too), basically. The phone may also freeze or stop other apps to make room, so opening apps gets slower like described above. In extreme cases, a warning to delete some apps is shown.

Some of the manufacturers seem to have preloaded worse ones than others.

Interesting. Is this the kind of thing you're talking about...

...and if so, what benefits/drawbacks could I expect from clicking to 'CLEAR ALL DATA'?

(Have to say I really like dictating queries into my phone - especially handy when I'm out & about - and having it transcribe my spoken words into text in a Telegram or Messenger message.)