Android 2.2 demolishes iOS4 in JavaScript benchmarks
Google's Android mobile operating system got some significant performance improvements in version 2.2, codenamed Froyo. A high-performance JIT was introduced in Android's Dalvik runtime environment and the browser got some very deep optimizations.
Context & Ripple Effects
Froyo arrived carrying two jobs. Back in March, Engadget reported that Android 2.2 was meant as a serious shot at stemming platform fragmentation across the Android installed base; this week's benchmarks show its other half paying off, with the new high-performance JIT compiler in Dalvik and deep browser optimizations delivering measurable JavaScript wins over iOS4.
The significance is that Google is competing on runtime engineering, not just feature checklists — the same release that tries to unify the fragmented base also gives every Froyo device a faster browser, and Ars Technica's benchmark results give the claim hard numbers rather than marketing language.
First-order effects
- Owners of Android 2.2 handsets get a dramatically faster browser overnight via the new Dalvik JIT, erasing the JavaScript speed gap that favored iOS4.
- Google gains a concrete, benchmarkable talking point against Apple at the height of the Android-vs-iPhone narrative of mid-2010.
Second-order effects
- Apple faces pressure to respond with its own JavaScript engine optimizations in Mobile Safari, since browser speed is becoming a visible proxy for overall platform quality.
- Web-app developers gain reason to treat the Android mobile browser as a first-class application target rather than a fallback behind native apps.
Third-order effects
- If each OS release now ships measurable runtime improvements, the mobile browser becomes a permanent battleground decided by virtual-machine engineering — a race that rewards whoever iterates fastest on JIT and rendering performance.
The trend: Mobile platforms are shifting their competition from hardware specs and app counts to runtime-level performance, with JIT-compiled JavaScript speed as the public scoreboard.