Volla Phone 22 Issues and Concerns

[Dual_SIM]

Device: Volla Phone 22
OS: Ubuntu Touch OTA-4

Hi everyone,

I am enjoying my Volla Phone 22 as my daily and would like to share some concerns or probably bugs that I have discovered in around 2 months of use. Moderator, please move this post accordingly if it's in the wrong place. I was told on UBPorts that bugs should be reported on this forum.

Here are some discovered issues:

• There are stutters during animation that weren't there upon first installation of Ubuntu Touch (UT). Compared to the Pixel 3a with UT, the Volla Phone 22 was around 3x faster when navigating and everything was smoother. As apps get installed the phone began to get animation stutters, especially when opening the app drawer and the menu. This is arguably the biggest difference between the two, but the Pixel 3a is a 100% UT-approved device.

• Waydroid would hang when UT browsers are active. This happens with either Morph or Sapot. When either is shut down, Waydroid would instantly function much more quickly.

• Waydroid still has some animation stutters but it's getting better after every update. Thanks for the all the work, by the way.

• When playing a video on Waydroid and the screen turns off, the sound would disappear. I just noticed this yesterday as it's the first time I watched a longer video on Waydroid.

• I would hear some cracking sound on notifications and playback both in UT and Waydroid. It's not a big deal but it can be heard quite easily in a quiet room.

I love the phone and that's why I use it daily. Even with the concerns above, the Volla Phone 22 has replaced my Pixel 3a as my daily. Cheers.

[sve]

Thanks for your interesting report. I use the same setup, but not as a daily driver. Most problems look like running out of RAM? Maybe you can investigate with top in a terminal, when such problems occur.

[minced_apple]

Thank you @Dual_SIM for summarizing the current Volla Phone 22 (VP22) 'issues' with Ubuntu Touch.

Actually, I currently have the exact same setup and intend to use the VP22 as a daily driver soon. I can also compare my experience with the VP22 against the Google Pixel 3a (P3a) as I also have both. I would like to add/confirm the following:

- Yes, I experience the stutters exactly as described above.
- Yes, Waydroid animation stutters are present for me as well, but I agree that it seems to get better after Waydroid udpates. Thanks!
- Yes, when I play a video on Newpipe (Waydroid) and the screen turns off, the sound stutters first, and then cuts off completely after about 10-20 secs. The same thing happens when I play music using Spotube (Waydroid)
- Yes, the notification sounds stutter.
- Battery life, although quite good, seems to drain quickly for a huge battery. Perhaps this is more of a general UT thing? I am also using Sailfish OS (actually my current daily), and my battery there is noticeably better (on a different phone though - Xperia XA2 Plus)

On the other hand, the Google Pixel 3a is very useable and extremely smooth at the moment, especially in Waydroid. A few things I've noticed that the Pixel 3a does well are:

- music and sound coming from Waydroid continue to play even when the screen is off. I was able to play a video from Newpipe and music from Spotube (both within Waydroid) without any issues for 30 min to 1 hour straight.
- screen refresh rate when scrolling/navigating through Waydroid is as smooth as in UT.
- Spotube seems smoother and quicker
- battery drain here was worse at one point (it was like 3 hours for a full charge), but as I kept using it, I was able to pull off 9 hours straight with heavy use.

Despite the slightly 'better' experience with Google Pixel 3a, I will still stick to my decision to use the AWESOME Volla Phone 22 very soon (in about 2 weeks or so). I would love it if the VP22 can reach that 100% usability that the P3a has, though it won't stop me from using it if it doesn't. Plus, I love the hardware... dual sim, micro SD etc.

@sve - interesting comment regarding RAM, great input thanks - though, Volla Phone 22 and Pixel 3a both have 4GB RAM, so could it be something else?

Anyway, just thought I'd share my experiences, too. Thank you devs for all your hard work! I am looking forward to getting better and better experience with my Volla Phone 22 as the development continues.

Cheers

[minced_apple]

UPDATE: I just updated my VP22 today to the latest Waydroid System and Vendor Image (both 18 May 2024 I think) and the update seems to have FIXED the "screen off = sound off" issue. I just tested it using Spotube (Waydroid) and I was able to play 3 songs continuously while the screen was off. Similarly, I was able to 'watch' a video on NewPipe (Waydroid) for 5-10 mins while the screen was off. I think it's safe to say that this one issue has been solved.

Thank you very much guys!

While we're on the topic, I suppose a few issues are still present:

- Video refresh rate: When playing a video on NewPipe (Waydroid), I noticed that the video is intermittently laggy / slow frame rate, and other times the video is playing smoothly. The sound is OK and can keep up without issues.
- Screen refresh rate: I noticed some improvement during general navigation through Waydroid for sure. But it's not as smooth as the Google Pixel 3a - no big deal but perhaps it can improve?
- Notification sound still cracks a bit
- I haven't tested @Dual_SIM's bulletpoint #2 "Waydroid would hang when UT browsers are active. This happens with either Morph or Sapot. When either is shut down, Waydroid would instantly function much more quickly."

I'm a happy VP22 user nonetheless!

By the way, I'm not sure if I should post this here since it's @Dual_SIM's thread - should I start another thread or is this a fitting one? It is after all "Issues and Concerns", but I don't want to hi-jack it

I will be using my Volla Phone 22 daily (as my main/only phone) so I will have a lot of feedback for improvements

[Dual_SIM]

Thanks for your interesting report. I use the same setup, but not as a daily driver. Most problems look like running out of RAM? Maybe you can investigate with top in a terminal, when such problems occur.

Update: The sound bug seems to have been fixed after the latest update. When the screen closes/turns off, the sound still continues to play.

Regarding RAM, yes, I still have some good MBs whenever my usual apps are open. I can see, though, that the swap is highly active and it works alongside the usable RAM.

The overall performance gets better after every Waydroid update. There are still some stutters but it's already very different vs 2 months ago.

[Dual_SIM]

Thanks for your interesting report. I use the same setup, but not as a daily driver. Most problems look like running out of RAM? Maybe you can investigate with top in a terminal, when such problems occur.

Update: The sound bug seems to have been fixed after the latest update. When the screen closes/turns off, the sound still continues to play.

Regarding RAM, yes, I still have some good MBs whenever my usual apps are open. I can see, though, that the swap is highly active and it works alongside the usable RAM.

The overall performance gets better after every Waydroid update. There are still some stutters but it's already very different vs 2 months ago.

[minced_apple]

Update: It seems the "screen off = sound off" issue is back. I was playing music from Spotube and as soon as I turn off the screen, it's the exact same symptoms as the original issue. Not sure what is happening?

[minced_apple]

Update regarding "screen off = sound off": I have listened to about 10 songs continuously using Spotube (Waydroid) with the screen off, tested using both loudspeaker and headphones, and the issue seems to have disappeared. I am not sure if the new 25 May 2024 System Image Waydroid update solved it, or simply restarting waydroid. I will continue to monitor this issue. So far, so good.