How to Reduce Input Lag in Mobile Games and Apps

For mobile and app developers, user experience is everything. And high input latency can often spell disaster. It can lead to both poor performance and astronomically high churn rates. 

Why? Because users want fast, seamless interactions. If a tap or swipe takes even 50 milliseconds for a screen response, frustration will quickly set in. And users are likely to leave your app altogether.

Network issues, device limitations, and poor optimization can all contribute to input lag. But there are actionable steps you can take to reduce it. They will ensure your game or app performs to its very best, engages users, and keeps them coming back.

Key Input Latency Statistics

The following statistics highlight the impact of input latency and general app performance on user satisfaction and engagement, especially on mobile apps:

• iOS games have an average churn rate of 64.2% on day one and 94.6% by day 30.
• Android games have an average churn rate of 72.4% on day one and 97.3% by day 30.
• Bounce rate probability increases by 32% as page load times rise from 1 second to 3 seconds.

These figures show that input lag can contribute significantly to early churn. Users easily lose patience with delays or performance issues.

According to Intel:

• Professional gamers tolerate input lag under 15 milliseconds (ms).
• Casual gamers usually tolerate input lag under 40 ms. Tech reviews usually classify this as “good” performance.
• Delay becomes more noticeable beyond 50 ms.
• Tech reviewers classify performance as poor if input lag exceeds 70 ms.
• Anything between 40 ms and 70 ms is classified as “average.”

For developers, meeting these performance benchmarks can help boost user engagement and retention. So reducing input lag must be of top priority.

What is input latency?

Input lag (also known as input latency), is the time it takes for a monitor to show the commands a user has made with a device. Typical devices include a controller, keyboard, or mouse. 

Factors like HDR, scaling, and deinterlacing all contribute to measuring input lag. These specific examples affect brightness, resolution, and rendering smoother images, respectively.

In apps and games, every millisecond counts. Input lag is typically judged by this unit. It’s integral to competitive gaming and user experience.

Input latency in mobile games and apps

Input lag is usually a more relevant performance goal for TVs and monitors. However, it can also impact the performance of mobile apps and games.

In mobile, input lag is the delay between a user’s action and the device’s response. Top-tier mobile devices (e.g. iOS and Android) are strong at minimizing input lag. But it can vary from one app to the next.

What causes input lag in mobile games and apps?

Typical causes of input latency include:

• Optimization quality: Delays can occur if an app or game is poorly optimized.
• Network issues: Unstable connections can delay an online game’s response time.
• Background activity: An app can have a longer delay if multiple apps are running simultaneously.
• Age of device: If you’re using an older device, it may lack the processing power to handle newer apps and games.

How to reduce input lag in mobile games and apps

Reducing input lag is a two-way effort. Both developers and users can make the experience smoother with useful tweaks.

How developers can reduce input lag

By optimizing various technical aspects of their apps, developers can minimize input lag, improving overall responsiveness and user experience. Here are some of the most effective methods.

Code optimization

For developers, it’s key to refine your app’s code to address any input lag it may suffer from. That way, you can reduce processing times and make your user experience more seamless. 

Some useful code optimization methods include:

• Reducing frame latency: For UX in games and apps, every frame counts. Optimizing code can reduce frames per second for input processing and response.
• Prioritizing input handling: Structuring your app or game’s loop can significantly impact its responsiveness. Prioritize processing user inputs to reduce delays.
• Using efficient algorithms: Complex algorithms can negatively affect performance. Streamlining data handling can help address this problem.

Network optimization

Data transfer and server communication can also cause input delays. Optimizing your app’s network interactions can solve this problem.

Input latency can be impacted by where the app is being used. Therefore, it’s key to ensure users are connected to servers closest to their region.

Also, network delays can directly correspond with input delays. Instead of Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), try switching to User Datagram Protocol (UDP) for real-time online interactions.

Maximize device capabilities

Optimize resource usage on the device your app is running on. This way, you can maximize its performance metrics, reducing input lag in the process. 

You can leverage your device capabilities by:

• Optimizing touch sampling: Smartphones typically include high touch sampling rates. You can leverage this feature to make inputs more responsive.
• Making graphics more adaptive: Because apps can run on various devices, it’s important to adjust graphics settings for each user. This makes frame rates more consistent, reducing lag.
• Set high refresh rates: The higher a device’s refresh rates, the smoother interactions will be. You can improve your app’s UX by enabling it to support higher refresh rates.

Other ways developers can reduce input lag

Developers can streamline their game or app’s user experience in other ways. These include:

• Cross-device testing: Checking performance across devices ensures wider compatibility and shows developers potential performance bottlenecks.
• Monitoring other performance metrics: It’s worth using tools like performance profilers to track GPU, CPU, and memory usage.
• Leveraging user feedback: Taking lag-related user complaints seriously allows developers to pinpoint recurring issues.

How users can reduce input lag

It’s not just the developers’ end where input lag can be addressed. Users can make their apps run smoother in various ways. Here are some examples.

1. Close Unnecessary apps

Running multiple apps simultaneously is a typical cause of input lag. Closing unnecessary background apps clears up space on mobile devices. As a result, it’s likely to reduce input lag in the app.

2. Update the device and the app

Devices, apps, and games routinely require updates. For the latter two, they are often for aesthetic and gameplay reasons. But they can also be for fixing bugs and optimizing performance. If both aren’t regularly updated, then users are likely to continue facing input lag issues.

3. Adjust graphics settings

Many apps and mobile games provide users with graphic settings to adjust the visuals. With this option, users can adjust accordingly to match the app’s quality with the device it’s being run on. They can lower touch sampling rates to less than 30 ms. This will most likely minimize lag and make the user experience smoother.

We have only scratched the surface of input latency…

This is only the tip of the iceberg. For non-mobile devices like TVs and gaming monitors, users can implement other methods. These include toggling V-Sync and optimizing FPS settings.

But for games and apps—by following the tips above, developers can brush up on their performance. And users can take useful steps to optimize their devices. Both efforts are sure to pave the way for a much smoother, more engaging experience—boosting user retention in the process.