Is low OSC/Midi (no audio) latency possible on Android?

Question

I want to do a concept for a real-time interface for audio interaction, so real low latency is essential. I have read a lot about this topic in the last week, but it's impossible to get a real overview in such a short time. So before I dig really deep I need to evaluate the feasibility from this project.

I've read a lot about the problems with Android and low latency audio applications and I know that iOS is way superior in this field, but I would prefer Android when it's possible. (I don't have a mac which is essential for developing iOS, and I just like the more 'open' Andoid more )

So my question are:

1. Is the bad low latency behaviour only related to actual audio buffer/processing, or does it affect midi or OSC only applications too? For me the interface is the important part - that means it's ok for me just to get midi/OSC commands which are processed in a separate PC.

2. I need a low overall latency (from the finger touch event to command output). Is this also a problem with Android compared to iOS?

Answer 1

Latency is primarily a function of the audio buffer. There is an extensive discussion of the latest developments here:

http://createdigitalmusic.com/2012/07/android-high-performance-audio-in-4-1-and-what-it-means-plus-libpd-goodness-today/

Tl;dr version: Galaxy Nexus is capable of 12ms audio buffer latency as of Jelly Bean. I have read elsewhere that the Nexus 10 and Nexus 4 can do the same, but the Nexus 7 lags behind.

And here is a slightly more technical discussion that will also lead you to a library that uses Open SL to achieve low latency:

https://github.com/libpd/pd-for-android/wiki/Low-latency-support-for-compliant-devices