I am using an absolutely ancient phone (2016 iphone SE) that's perpetually in low power mode, so it's possible that this isn't a big problem for other iOS users. It's also rather slow on my mac, but I have noticed that my partner's 4a runs it smoothly.

That would explain it.

I love HN threads where the complainer is knowingly using an old device on power mode, while complaining about performance… all while the responder is using a custom de-googled niche ROM and claiming somehow it works flawlessly.

I always wonder how non-HNers use such software, if even the dedicated people are struggling.

Well as a counterpoint, I have bog standard Pixel 5 still on Android 11 and Signal works perfectly.

I am using stock ROM for my S21 and it also work flawlessly. Not sure whether the ROM has anything to do with it.

iPhone SE is an extremely powerful phone. AFAIR it uses iPhone 6S CPU. iPhone 7 CPU beat Intel Core i7700K in some benchmarks, just to put a comparison.

Not sure how much degraded battery affects it. I recently got my iPhone 8 degraded because of battery and honestly I didn't notice anything.

Even my old iPhone 4S is a little beast. I remember playing Asphalt racing game. It pushed it to 60 FPS and its graphics was stunning, better than need for speed. If phone can render AAA game at 60 FPS but struggles with some chat app, this chat app does not respect is users. I mean it's just a bunch of grey squares with some text and lame shadows. DOS on i386 could render it fast enough.

Sometimes I can't decide who's more crazy - me who demands adequate performance from simplistic apps or people who accept this state of things.

> iPhone 7 CPU beat Intel Core i7700K in some benchmarks

Ehhh that's a >5 year old CPU. I wouldn't describe it as "extremely powerful" even on a phone.

Anecdotally, going from an iPhone 8 to a 13 pro max was a night and day difference. Not just because the CPU was noticably faster, but because the 120Hz display makes everything more responsive. Sure you don't need that hardware for a chat app but unless some product guy forces the issue, devs aren't even gonna notice fps dropping below 120 because most of them don't use ancient phones.

It blows my mind that people don't just buy new batteries for these. They are CHEAP, under $10 to DIY replace and not very difficult. If you don't feel comfortable following ifixit guide, then any chain shop shouldn't charge more than $50 for the job, it's 15 minutes or less for someone used to doing it.

I have replaced my SE's battery three times, and the screen/front sensors once. The battery is at 100% health as of my latest replacement a couple of weeks ago.

Signal is still my slowest messaging app. It's not some subjective complaint about jank: compared to Telegram and Messages, Signal is much slower to load and share.

Agreed. Android version is slim, and just several days ago I paired up with the Windows desktop version - a UI to die for. So happy I got several people to a) drop facebook and b) contact me with/ reply to me on signal (I don't use Whatsapp); and they've done the same with others. Both my kids (under 20) use signal more and more, especially with their new friends at a new school.

Aside: I asked - they, and their friends, don't give an f about twitter.