HTC says it purposefully made multitasking broken on the One X

posted by Michael H. / May 16, 2012, 4:12 PM

HTC says it purposefully made multitasking broken on the One X

Recently, we've been getting a number of e-mails from readers saying that we need to do a story about how the multitasking on the HTC One X is broken. Amazingly, just as we were working on that very article, HTC made a statement on the subject. Unfortunately, it's not a statement that users will really want to hear.

The general issue that we've been hearing about is that tasks that get sent to the background on the HTC One X are not being held in memory, but rather are being shut down, and so when you go back to an app it will start from scratch, or in the case of the browser, it will reload the page you had open no matter what. This effectively made multitasking non-existent aside from the HTC-built apps, which are actually held in memory.

HTC commented on the issue today, and effectively said that it made the memory management and task killing on the One X extremely aggressive on purpose. Of course, HTC started out by placating users, but that probably won't go too far. The company told The Verge:

HTC is aware of some questions in the enthusiast community about how the HTC One X handles multitasking and memory management for background apps. We value the community's input and are always looking for ways to enhance customers' experience with our devices. That said, right now multitasking is operating normally according to our custom memory management specifications which balance core ICS features with a consistent HTC Sense experience.

So, there you have it. Killing your apps is considered "normal" by HTC's standards. Just so everyone understands what the issue is, here's a video made by a reader of the multitasking on the One X.

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87 Comments

1. snowgator

Posts: 3621; Member since: Jan 19, 2011

Gee, I wonder if the GS3 will be unable to multi-task, too. What was HTC thinking? Like their competition needs to shut down some of the main advantages of Android for their Skins??? Whatever. Be interesting to see if this hurts them or not.

posted on May 16, 2012, 4:19 PM 9

76. ZEUS.the.thunder.god unregistered

i think its just a goodwill gesture from HTC to help SAMMY with even more sales for 2012. good luck HTC. S3 all the way:)

posted on May 17, 2012, 12:35 PM 3

77. remixfa

Posts: 14605; Member since: Dec 19, 2008

that just helped kill any interest I remotely had in the phone. camera issues and no multitasking? no thanks. I bet they implemented it to help save battery since its a bit under sized for the device.

posted on May 17, 2012, 1:00 PM 2

83. Mario1017

Posts: 336; Member since: Sep 04, 2011

so does this happen to the One S as well?

posted on May 17, 2012, 7:52 PM 0

84. Sackboy117

Posts: 178; Member since: Oct 17, 2011

No the One S has actually proved much less laggier than the one x. . . .and it also has a better camera based on the review. . . . wtf

posted on May 17, 2012, 9:03 PM 0

85. Mario1017

Posts: 336; Member since: Sep 04, 2011

im not talking about lag or anything like that....im talking about multitasking. and both X and S have the EXACT same camera, both are equal in every way. and the X isnt laggy either way...

posted on May 17, 2012, 9:18 PM 0

2. hobble

Posts: 130; Member since: Oct 11, 2011

I love how this article ends with a shot at HTC. And as someone who has run ICS on about four phones, none of them official releases, in all versions I've used you can change the amount of programs you let run as background processes. Can you not do it on "official" versions of ICS?

posted on May 16, 2012, 4:27 PM 1

25. sprockkets

Posts: 1612; Member since: Jan 16, 2012

I can second this. The stock version of android offers this option on the Gnex. Someone just needs to check the develop menu.

posted on May 16, 2012, 5:56 PM 1

68. Forsaken77

Posts: 553; Member since: Jun 09, 2011

I think if the programs are running in the background you can "restrict background processes" to limit apps that run in the background. I don't believe there's a way to enable background processes because they're supposed to already be enabled as part of the core functionality of the Android os. It looks like HTC went ahead and dismantled that feature to prolong battery life. I bet the phone was getting real bad battery life and that was the only way to extend it.

posted on May 17, 2012, 4:31 AM 0

78. remixfa

Posts: 14605; Member since: Dec 19, 2008

there is a difference between apps running in the background that u used and background sync processes. the HTC and the ics function you are talking about both limit active apps that you started.. not background sync apps.

posted on May 17, 2012, 1:03 PM 0

3. WakaFlakaD

Posts: 576; Member since: Apr 30, 2011

Apple?

posted on May 16, 2012, 4:29 PM 6

53. HTCFreak

Posts: 156; Member since: Jul 17, 2010

It isn't even that bad with apple devices. Pages don't need to reload when the task was on the background, and with games, you just need to tap on resume and you can continue your game. So HTC... why? Is 1GB of RAM not enough?

posted on May 17, 2012, 12:16 AM 3

4. kindahipdude

Posts: 58; Member since: Apr 05, 2012

I used to be stoked for the new HTC phones, but now I'm gonna wait a little longer and get the SIII. They do stuff like this, they brag about Beats and don't give you headphones anymore, they have sucky browsers and texting apps...Samsung actually tried to improve the user experience which is why I'll go with them.

posted on May 16, 2012, 4:32 PM 15

61. belovedson

Posts: 1061; Member since: Nov 30, 2010

I finally got to check this phone out and i am not impressed. Off white and ceramic feeling just doesnt work for me i hope the sprint version comes out soon it looks nice

posted on May 17, 2012, 2:12 AM 1

5. a1000smiles4u

Posts: 84; Member since: Apr 24, 2012

thank you htc u made my decision easy galaxy s3 all the way

posted on May 16, 2012, 4:41 PM 18

6. chapizzo

Posts: 116; Member since: Sep 13, 2011

What??????? With all that ram, HTC can't provide real multitasking???????

posted on May 16, 2012, 4:41 PM 19

10. a1000smiles4u

Posts: 84; Member since: Apr 24, 2012

dr dre using all the ram :P

posted on May 16, 2012, 4:56 PM 10

12. BuckeyeCadet86

Posts: 78; Member since: Oct 26, 2011

considering that sense probably needs just about all of the available memory, it doesn't surprise me that the One X can't do multitasking.

posted on May 16, 2012, 4:58 PM 6

7. Sniggly

Posts: 7305; Member since: Dec 05, 2009

Maybe that's why the One X is being held up at customs; they made it more like the iPhone with their multitasking "solution." IT'S A JOKE, DON'T SHOOT, DON'T SHOOT!

posted on May 16, 2012, 4:45 PM 15

28. Lucas777

Posts: 2137; Member since: Jan 06, 2011

its also quite apple of them to say "ur multitasking wrong"

posted on May 16, 2012, 6:19 PM 2

31. Sniggly

Posts: 7305; Member since: Dec 05, 2009

Snorfle. Yes, i just made up a word. That was funny. :)

posted on May 16, 2012, 6:26 PM 2

32. sithman

Posts: 299; Member since: Apr 21, 2012

Don't put apple in it. Htc jus f'd up, own up to it.

posted on May 16, 2012, 6:36 PM 2

8. gallitoking

Posts: 4721; Member since: May 17, 2011

HTC just keep shooting themselves on the foot...

posted on May 16, 2012, 4:49 PM 17

11. Sniggly

Posts: 7305; Member since: Dec 05, 2009

Apart from the lack of an SD card slot, this is really the only flaw I see in the One X.

posted on May 16, 2012, 4:57 PM 5

21. WirelessCon

Posts: 311; Member since: May 11, 2010

The lack of an SD card was a huge flaw, so will this no multi-tasking nonsense. The design aesthetic is beautiful, but I need more storage to even be viable, and the cloud is not an option.

posted on May 16, 2012, 5:18 PM 9

82. remixfa

Posts: 14605; Member since: Dec 19, 2008

dont forget that it has camera issues right now as well and a tiny battery

posted on May 17, 2012, 5:44 PM 0

9. theBankRobber

Posts: 682; Member since: Sep 22, 2011

Multitasking is one of Androids pros, only way I see this as a positive is for better longer battery life.

posted on May 16, 2012, 4:55 PM 1

48. maxican16

Posts: 364; Member since: Sep 29, 2011

if an app has to restart from scratch every time it is called, it will actually decrease battery life. multitasking on Android != multitasking on a PC.

posted on May 16, 2012, 11:04 PM 2

13. Xquisite

Posts: 87; Member since: Apr 23, 2012

This isn't that much of a deal breaker for me. But I'm on Verzion, and since Verizon isn't releasing a HTC One X variant, I'll have to go with the S III if they get it.

posted on May 16, 2012, 5:04 PM 1

14. WirelessCon

Posts: 311; Member since: May 11, 2010

So you can't listen to a music app and browse the internet at the same time? You can't browse the internet while calling a friend? At&t is okay with this?

posted on May 16, 2012, 5:05 PM 5

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