Dalvik Turbo – 2X to 3X Performance Increase to Android

Myriad Group has put together their Dalvik Turbo virtual machine and has been demoing some head-to-head comparisons with the standard Dalvik VM that current comes with the Android OS at MWC this week. They performance numbers are inspiring, running a Java Test suite, the Dalvik Turbo VM runs about 2X to 3X faster than the baseline Android Dalvik VM. Myriad has also made claims that on top of the performance increase, the new VM could produce some power savings as well. And just to make sure you are really interested, they have added in more 3D gaming capabilities that developers can take advantage of right away. 

Just in case you are still with us, don’t worry about your current favorite apps not working, as Myriad has stated, “The technology replaces the existing Dalvik virtual machine in Android and boasts rapid integration, with Myriad engineers demonstrating installation on an untested target device within minutes.”  And that this will run all your current Android apps without need to update them.

Dalvik Turbo increases application execution speed by up to three times ‐ allowing OEMs and operators to bring smoother delivery and more complex applications to Android phones, while also providing substantial battery life improvements when running resource intensive tasks. It also enables developers to take full advantage of Android, allowing them to create games boasting advanced graphics and complex models while retaining full compatibility with existing software.

I first reported on this development on the 10th of Feb.  Since then I have found a couple of video demos and the performance increase really is amazing.  I am not able to to exactly how well this translates to real world usage.  Will you new Browser really load faster?  Probably, but how much faster?  Unknown.  However, let’s hope Google incorporates the Dalvik Turbo VM quickly.

Java Test Demo:

Cube Demo: