i.mx6sl evk w/ android slow, won't run apps

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i.mx6sl evk w/ android slow, won't run apps

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dluberger
Contributor V

I bought the imx6slevk since this processor seems to be the cheapest that will run android and while I realize that there's the adage that you get what you pay for, the evk comes with android which led me to believe that it would actually run android well.  i'm using the hdmi adapter and also a keyboard and mouse, and without even putting anything on it, the out-of-the-box version is very sluggish.  I thought maybe it was a video resolution thing, but I can see the hdmi is outputting the same resolution as what i'd have on an parallel lcd; as it's very pixelated and fuzzy. also, i could get on the internet plugging in the wired ethernet, but there seems to be no way of installing apps on this version because there's no play store.

i had to upgrade the OS to a newer version anyway because the version that it ships with (android 4.0.4) doesn't support the murata wifi module. so i upgraded to 8.0.0 and it's still very sluggish, and now what's worse, the built-in browser doesn't work, and if i put the play store apk or even chrome apk, neither work. the play store simply never comes up (though app manager seems to think it's running) and chrome comes up but immediately crashes.

i don't understand why NXP is trying to sell this thing as android capable, when the furthest i can get is to image the OS, but nothing works and i can't do anything with it! What am I missing? Did I get duped by NXP??

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gusarambula
NXP TechSupport
NXP TechSupport

Hello David Luberger,

The i.MX6SL is Android capable and it is supported on the i.MX Android BSP, but the performance will be limited by the processor’s features, especially the lack of a 3D GPU. The EVK itself is also not designed for graphic intensive applications, so the LPDDR runs al 400Mhz, which also affects the performance among other things.

As for the lack of Google Play Store it is not enabled on any of the Android BSPs for our boards, but you should be able to install the apps that interest you using their .apk files. Many browsers may require OpenGL, which the i.MX6SL does not support because it does not have a 3D GPU, so that should also be considered.

It could be that this product is not the right fit for your desired application, I apologize for the inconvenience, but hopefully there’s something we can do to help.

Regards,

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