Interesting to hear, I've only recently tried out Android Development and the Emulator that comes with Android Studio worked like a charm at full speeds
You can go into a store 1 day after <XYZ> flagship release, try the hardware and have it stutter through menus like a Walmart PC trying to run Crysis 10 years ago.
Huawei phones seem to be the only ones getting Android to feel somewhat smooth, much better than "vanilla". Not going to buy Chinese telco phones though.
I like Android for some things but performance and feel isnt one of them.
I just bought an iPad (regular, not pro) because I wanted a tablet and got tired of waiting for a good Android one.
It's been infuriating to see just how smooth everything is on iOS compared to Android.
Honestly, this alone is probably why laypeople prefer iPhones. They're not more intuitive anymore, they're not simpler or easier than Android. The Android back button is a game changer, and multi-tasking is better designed.
But the butter smoothness...fuck.