JW Library: Apple or Android?

[Lloyd777]

10/17/23

 

I gonna hate to have to admit it, because I've been "Android" for many years, but if one uses JW Library mostly on one's phone or an iPad/tablet or even a Windows laptop or computer, and one is looking for speed and no lag from JW Library, Apple wins hands down (except on price!).

The story: I noticed that JW Library was taking longer and longer to open on my Samsung Android Note phone (60 seconds to just open!), and even starting to take a while on my computer.  The more I added to the JW Library app, the slower it opened and the slower it took to go, for instance, from a video to the Insight Book.  Then I tried an Apple iPad, the M2 Pro, 2022, 6th generation.  Guess what?  No lag!!!  Everything opened and switched instantly.

Then I tried JW Library on the brand new iPhone 15 Pro Max.  And no lag there either!  Opens instantly, switching is instant as well.

And that was with almost everything that JW Library has downloaded onto both my iPad and also onto this new iPhone, including all the videos in 720p and all the audio.

 

Now if you don't download and keep much on your devices, I'm sure JW Library will work fine on both Android and Windows.  But being a bit of a perfectionist and wanting most everything that JW Library has (over 312 GB worth) on each of my 2 devices, as well as my notes, highlighting, and whatever I might import, then Apple is the best choice, yes even with their rather infuriatingly closed ecosystem.

Well, that's my summation, and I'm sticking to it.

DANGER: Downloading anything in JW Library over 2 GB at a time, can cause JW Library to crash, and it is then non-recoverable.  And, unless I've missed something, there is only one item in JW Library that is over 2 GB long that is available for download, and it is the "2014 Annual Meeting Program" that is 4hrs, 7 minutes, and 5 seconds long.  If downloaded in 720p, that's a 2.9 GB download, and you can say goodbye to all your JW Library files!  So if you must have that particular video, only download it in 480p, which is 1.9 GB, and you'll be safe.

[trottigy]

I tried running it on my wife's iMac and found it it does NOT work on it.

 

I found this comment, "macOS with M1 or newer chip"

 

So, it needs to be a fairly new iMac for it work - who knew.

[jwhess]

3 minutes ago, trottigy said:

I tried running it on my wife's iMac and found it it does NOT work on it.

 

I found this comment, "macOS with M1 or newer chip"

 

So, it needs to be a fairly new iMac for it work - who knew.

That is correct (M1 or M2 processor).

 

I have used all of the OS (except the newer Mac).  I found things I liked about each.  The choices in Windows as a tablet is limited.  I use a '2-n-1 tablet/notebook.  It has my WTL library on it.  I have given up on my Android devices (except one phone).  I have a slightly older 10th generation iPhone and an older iPad Pro.

 

The Apple devices are indeed faster.  But the reason I switched to the iPhone was connectivity.  We live in a relatively rural area and phones are not 100% reliable.  When the KM school noted that a lot of our elder communications would be by means of texts it got tome.  I would send an SMS text with my Android phone and half the time it never went through.  When I used my iPhone, the texts always went through.  That could be because the elders in my congregation predominately use Apple.  Anyway, it solved the problem.

 

The Apple products are expensive, and they are not as adaptable to me as I would like.  But there you are.

Edited October 17, 2023 by jwhess

[jayrtom]

13 hours ago, Lloyd777 said:

10/17/23

 

I gonna hate to have to admit it, because I've been "Android" for many years, but if one uses JW Library mostly on one's phone or an iPad/tablet or even a Windows laptop or computer, and one is looking for speed and no lag from JW Library, Apple wins hands down (except on price!).

The story: I noticed that JW Library was taking longer and longer to open on my Samsung Android Note phone (60 seconds to just open!), and even starting to take a while on my computer.  The more I added to the JW Library app, the slower it opened and the slower it took to go, for instance, from a video to the Insight Book.  Then I tried an Apple iPad, the M2 Pro, 2022, 6th generation.  Guess what?  No lag!!!  Everything opened and switched instantly.

Then I tried JW Library on the brand new iPhone 15 Pro Max.  And no lag there either!  Opens instantly, switching is instant as well.

And that was with almost everything that JW Library has downloaded onto both my iPad and also onto this new iPhone, including all the videos in 720p and all the audio.

13 hours ago, Lloyd777 said:

Now if you don't download and keep much on your devices, I'm sure JW Library will work fine on both Android and Windows.  But being a bit of a perfectionist and wanting most everything that JW Library has (over 312 GB worth) on each of my 2 devices, as well as my notes, highlighting, and whatever I might import, then Apple is the best choice, yes even with their rather infuriatingly closed ecosystem.

Well, that's my summation, and I'm sticking to it.

DANGER: Downloading anything in JW Library over 2 GB at a time, can cause JW Library to crash, and it is then non-recoverable.  And, unless I've missed something, there is only one item in JW Library that is over 2 GB long that is available for download, and it is the "2014 Annual Meeting Program" that is 4hrs, 7 minutes, and 5 seconds long.  If downloaded in 720p, that's a 2.9 GB download, and you can say goodbye to all your JW Library files!  So if you must have that particular video, only download it in 480p, which is 1.9 GB, and you'll be safe.

 

 

If you try the surface Pro 9 i7 I'm sure you wont have any lag also  I have a Surface pro 7 and it works top notch, altough I don't download everything (But in windows I don't think it would impact the speed)

They are similar priced on amazon (~$1300)

 

Maybe you're comparing the créme de la créme of apple against a lower tire android and windows...

 

If you have money to spend I'm sure you'll find a comparative powerfull device from android and windows

Edited October 18, 2023 by jayrtom

[Qapla]

I have JWL on my Windows PC running Windows 10 and have all the videos downloaded - it has not crashed yet and launches fairly quickly - I just timed it, from clicking on the icon in the task bar until it is fully loaded and no longer looking for updates takes just under 5 seconds. Personally, that is quick enough for me.

 

On my Samsung Galaxy 20+ it takes less than 2 seconds to launch. Granted, I do not have everything loaded on my phone, but then, I don't need everything loaded.

 

[Korotkiy]

I have installed JW Library on really big account Android devices. (mine and brothers and sisters) On some of them I see bugs that prevent devices from normal work.

 

For example, on my Android TVbox on my kitchen JW Library cannot start after update to the last version - it need to agree with licensing agreement, but it is impossible to press "yes". I have found an older version on ApkMirror and then JwLibrary started. This is only one example.

 

I am close to applications development and testing on my work. For example, one company want to deploy Android application on corporate devices. QA team has got a big packet of devices and should well-test an application on every of them. Therefore, Android development is extremely difficult in bugfixing and troubleshooting because number of end devices approaches to infinity (only basic tests i think about hundreds...)

 

From other hand, iOS development need to test only on iPhone, iPad and Mac PC, and some older version of OS.

 

Thats why Mac version of JWLibrary is definitely less buggy then Android and PC (the last depends from hardware, versions of OS etc)

 

I remember Governing Body representative visit our Betel and asked missioners and CO`s: what information you want to convey GB?

They answered: "please pay attention to Android JWLibrary" 🙂  

 

This is because in our country Apple devices is too expencive mor most publishers. Android devices maybe can 2-3 times less price. 

 

  

[jwhess]

I did a short test.  I have a windows 10 PC (about 5 years old (Core I-7 10th gen CPU) and an iPad Pro (2017 version).

 

The Windows PC has about 90 GB of JW files, on a 2 TB SSD drive.  My iPad Pro has about 65 GB of JW files out of 512 GB max. available.

 

From the opening click on the JW icon, my Windows PC takes about 5 seconds to display the home page.  When in the "library" part of the app, a click on "books" takes a little less than 5 seconds to open.

 

From the opening click on the JW icon, my iPad Pro takes less than 2 seconds to display the home page.  When in the "library" part of the app, a click on "books" takes about 1 second to open the page.

 

I do not have any newer devices to test response time.  It is my experience that Windows takes 3-5 times longer to achieve the same results.  I believe it is related to the search feature and how it combs through the files.

[computerwiz]

I have a very old Galaxy Tab S4, and JWL runs just fine.  Never really notice any lag.

 

Don't get a cheap android.  Buy a flagship model...it won't disappoint.  😉

[Korotkiy]

46 minutes ago, computerwiz said:

I have a very old Galaxy Tab S4, and JWL runs just fine.  Never really notice any lag.

 

Don't get a cheap android.  Buy a flagship model...it won't disappoint.  😉

 

No difference how old is your device. What`s really have matter is a version of Android.

 

According to our site, the letest version 14 (07/23) supports from Android 7.0 and higher. The previous 13.5 (4.23) supports from 5.1 Lollilop,

 

I met brother who have 5.0 Android tablet with fine condition and JW library doesn`t work. That was very sad. One digit...

 

Of course, Apkmirror contains earlier versions of JWLibrary that are not accessible from our site - but they have very cutted functionality, many publications cannot be downloaded.

 

Another way is to install custom assemblies has made for this device by enthusiasts - them prepare later Android versions that never oficcially supported,  but this is too risky and complex.

 

 

[Pabo]

My wife's Samsung Tab Pro 12" still runs on Kit Kat, as it still runs okay with JWL, albeit a tad slow, as it is now over 9 years old.

 

My Samsung Tab S8.4 Lollipop (v5.0) still has JWL running, as I still use it for taking notes at assemblies, and I use it for WT reading, as the Samsung keyboard that I have for it doubles up as a stand/cover, and I use the arrow keys to scroll instead of touching the screen itself. But when JWL starts up, you may wish to make a cup of coffee, as it is very slow to get the app running, due the use that the tablet has had in it's over 9 years of live with me.

 

[jwhess]

15 minutes ago, Pabo said:

My wife's Samsung Tab Pro 12" still runs on Kit Kat, as it still runs okay with JWL, albeit a tad slow, as it is now over 9 years old.

 

My Samsung Tab S8.4 Lollipop (v5.0) still has JWL running, as I still use it for taking notes at assemblies, and I use it for WT reading, as the Samsung keyboard that I have for it doubles up as a stand/cover, and I use the arrow keys to scroll instead of touching the screen itself. But when JWL starts up, you may wish to make a cup of coffee, as it is very slow to get the app running, due the use that the tablet has had in it's over 9 years of live with me.

 

Curiosity makes me ask this question.  Can your wife update all the publications and download all the videos that are currently available?  My KitKat device (Android 4.4) refused to update anything.  I could sideload the app and install one book at a time.  But when the book updated, I had to erase the book and download the new version.  Some of the newer videos just refused to download.

 

EDIT:  my daughter had a brother in her congregation send me two ASUS (Android 4.1) devices.  The were very nice and had keyboards that could attach.  I spent two days working on them and never got any part of JW Library to load, not even sideload.

Edited October 19, 2023 by jwhess

[Korotkiy]

I assume there is a difference between JW Library already installed on Android when this version has been supported and just installed JWLibrary on a clean Android.

 

When the JW Library has been installed on 4.X or 5.0 Android e.g. at 2014 -  it should work still, but new publications cannot be downloaded and updated.

 

But once you resetted device to default settings, no chance to made in worked. Library can be installed from ApkMirror, but cannot download most publecations, only few can be downloaded

[Pabo]

3 hours ago, jwhess said:

Curiosity makes me ask this question.  Can your wife update all the publications and download all the videos that are currently available?  My KitKat device (Android 4.4) refused to update anything.  I could sideload the app and install one book at a time.  But when the book updated, I had to erase the book and download the new version.  Some of the newer videos just refused to download.

 

EDIT:  my daughter had a brother in her congregation send me two ASUS (Android 4.1) devices.  The were very nice and had keyboards that could attach.  I spent two days working on them and never got any part of JW Library to load, not even sideload.

 

She cannot download the updated Bible with its newest latest features, but the normal publications she can.

[jayrtom]

For any android device  with an older android version, search in XDA Developers for a new ROM that puts the device with a new Android version and pretty functional. Most brands are covered with an AOSP ROM (standard, clean, google android) . Samsung has even examples with a newer Samsung ROM

 

For example the TAB S3, an old device, but still pretty capable, can be upgraded to Android 13, here:

 

[ROM][UNOFFICIAL][13][EAS][OTA][SM-T820][SM-T825][2023-9-24] LineageOS 20.0 for Galaxy Tab S3 | XDA Forums

 

Granted, those steps must be done by a techy brother or sister

 

Edited October 19, 2023 by jayrtom

[Korotkiy]

One brother who is professional in device repairment told me (from his experience) that reflashing an old devices always is a risk.

Often they may do not survive the custom firmware update and can turn into a brick.

 

[jayrtom]

7 hours ago, Korotkiy said:

One brother who is professional in device repairment told me (from his experience) that reflashing an old devices always is a risk.

Often they may do not survive the custom firmware update and can turn into a brick.

 

I can say for experience that is not the case. I have lots of experience doing that for several years and I never bricked a device. And even if bricks it can go back to function again
But off course it must be done following carefully all the steps  

[jwhess]

9 hours ago, jayrtom said:

For any android device  with an older android version, search in XDA Developers for a new ROM that puts the device with a new Android version and pretty functional. Most brands are covered with an AOSP ROM (standard, clean, google android) . Samsung has even examples with a newer Samsung ROM

 

For example the TAB S3, an old device, but still pretty capable, can be upgraded to Android 13, here:

 

[ROM][UNOFFICIAL][13][EAS][OTA][SM-T820][SM-T825][2023-9-24] LineageOS 20.0 for Galaxy Tab S3 | XDA Forums

 

Granted, those steps must be done by a techy brother or sister

 

When I was an Android supporter, I used the XDA rom flashing techniques.  I used to buy very nice B&N Nook tablets and convert them to KitKat.  I had a couple of other brands and got up to Marshmallow (5.1)  Eventually, it became more difficult and older tablets that were not popular lost the tech support.

 

You are stated as using Samsung devices which is very popular, so you have the choices.  My older Asus devices were not as fortunate.  I never owned or used Samsung so my efforts fell by the wayside.  A couple of years ago, I took an old Nook tablet and put Android 4.4 on it (just for old times sake).  The JW Library would not load or sideload at all.  It never had a glimmer of installing.  I had another device that I updated to a version 5 Marshmallow that would recognize the request to load and simply told me (on screen) that the app was not available on my device using Android 5.

 

So to those that ask me, I tell them what the organization tells me...you need Android 7.

[jayrtom]

12 hours ago, jwhess said:

When I was an Android supporter, I used the XDA rom flashing techniques.  I used to buy very nice B&N Nook tablets and convert them to KitKat.  I had a couple of other brands and got up to Marshmallow (5.1)  Eventually, it became more difficult and older tablets that were not popular lost the tech support.

 

You are stated as using Samsung devices which is very popular, so you have the choices.  My older Asus devices were not as fortunate.  I never owned or used Samsung so my efforts fell by the wayside.  A couple of years ago, I took an old Nook tablet and put Android 4.4 on it (just for old times sake).  The JW Library would not load or sideload at all.  It never had a glimmer of installing.  I had another device that I updated to a version 5 Marshmallow that would recognize the request to load and simply told me (on screen) that the app was not available on my device using Android 5.

 

So to those that ask me, I tell them what the organization tells me...you need Android 7.

Well you are describing a device that as far as I know doesn't support android in the first place (isn't it an ereader?)

 

I now have a samsung and I don't flash roms anymore because I have a recent androiid version. But before I was able to buy more recent phones, I bought always used ones. The first thing I did was search for a new rom. I had this brands, HTC, LG, Huawei, Honor, Alcatel and for all of them I could find updated ROM's (but yes its harder for tablets)

 

Anyway, this has been less necessary nowadays because theres so many phones launched everyday that we can buy a phone with a recent android version for less than 100 bucks or even less

[jwhess]

4 hours ago, jayrtom said:

Well you are describing a device that as far as I know doesn't support android in the first place (isn't it an ereader?)

 

I now have a samsung and I don't flash roms anymore because I have a recent androiid version. But before I was able to buy more recent phones, I bought always used ones. The first thing I did was search for a new rom. I had this brands, HTC, LG, Huawei, Honor, Alcatel and for all of them I could find updated ROM's (but yes its harder for tablets)

 

Anyway, this has been less necessary nowadays because theres so many phones launched everyday that we can buy a phone with a recent android version for less than 100 bucks or even less

Barnes and Noble made a series of tablets that were full color, HD screens of 1920x1200 resolution of 9" size.  The units had up to 64 GB storage.  The Model was BNTV-600 (they also made a 7" version).  They came installed with a B&N operating system that was a take-off of Android.  

 

To convert to a true Android, you had to root the tablet (and put in a TWRP recovery system).  XDA mad a wonderful ROM to flash and the units became very nice, full Android 9" tablets.  I was able to get several for $50-$80 dollars brand-new.  I continued upgrading the ROMs until 4.4 KitKat.  When I tried Android 5 the system became a little unstable and I stopped there.  While I was using these devices, the JW Library worked very well.

 

It was hard to beat the 1920x1200 9" screens 25 years ago.  They had factory HDMI adapters and loads of accessories.  They were not just "e-readers"...❤️

[jayrtom]

5 minutes ago, jwhess said:

Barnes and Noble made a series of tablets that were full color, HD screens of 1920x1200 resolution of 9" size.  The units had up to 64 GB storage.  The Model was BNTV-600 (they also made a 7" version).  They came installed with a B&N operating system that was a take-off of Android.  

 

To convert to a true Android, you had to root the tablet (and put in a TWRP recovery system).  XDA mad a wonderful ROM to flash and the units became very nice, full Android 9" tablets.  I was able to get several for $50-$80 dollars brand-new.  I continued upgrading the ROMs until 4.4 KitKat.  When I tried Android 5 the system became a little unstable and I stopped there.  While I was using these devices, the JW Library worked very well.

 

It was hard to beat the 1920x1200 9" screens 25 years ago.  They had factory HDMI adapters and loads of accessories.  They were not just "e-readers"...❤️

Looks a great tablet, never heard of it😃

[Lloyd777]

On 10/18/2023 at 3:18 AM, jayrtom said:

 

 

If you try the surface Pro 9 i7 I'm sure you wont have any lag also  I have a Surface pro 7 and it works top notch, altough I don't download everything (But in windows I don't think it would impact the speed)

They are similar priced on amazon (~$1300)

 

Maybe you're comparing the créme de la créme of apple against a lower tire android and windows...

 

If you have money to spend I'm sure you'll find a comparative powerfull device from android and windows

I spent the money and time on the iPad M2 and the iPhone 15 and downloaded all 312+ GB of JW Library material to both of them to find that there was absolutely no lag when opening the JW Library app or moving around within the app.  Timing it, I can't even say the word "one" before the app fully opens!

And I know for a fact that with my "Samsung Note 20 Ultra 5G" with the same amount of material downloaded, that the JW Library app takes 60 seconds to open and also lags considerably when moving around within the app.  So, for instance, when a brother giving a talk asks us to look at a Bible verse, because of the lag, there is not enough time to get to the verse before he's read it and moved on.  Thus, I have become quite disenchanted with Android as far as using JW Library goes within that ecosystem, and while Windows doesn't lag as much, it still does lag some.

I leave it to someone else to buy the latest Surface Pro or whatever other Windows product one may choose to buy or build, to also take the 2 days or so it takes to download all 312GB+ of the JW Library and prove that there is no lag.  At this point, like it was proven on Seinfeld that the yogurt had fat, I'm gonna guess that even the latest Android and Windows products will lag.  But who knows?

Frankly, I'm gonna guess that Apple is doing something within their products that eliminate the lag, and that's it is not only a simple matter of having faster chips or "innards."  Why? Because no matter how little or how much of JW Library that one downloads within the Apple products that I tested, there is zero change in how long the app takes to open or move within the app.  But I have not found one person who can definitively tell me exactly what is going on.    

[Qapla]

I have a Samsung Galaxy 20+ phone with JWL installed. Granted, I do not have all 312+GB loaded but, I do have all the material loaded that I use on a regular basis ... including the WT and MWM needs with the various videos for each MWM.

 

I just tested mine. I can't say that the JWL was open and ready for use before I could say "one" - however, it was up and ready before I could say "two". I have no lag between links on JWL. If I tap a cited Scripture in a lesson, it pops right in and is displayed before I can get my hand out of the way of seeing the screen. Also, using the back button takes me immediately back to the lesson. 

 

I just tried my Bible navigation. I tapped on random books and chapters, and they all popped right in. Less time than me saying "one".

 

I already know that my PC does not have the type of lag that makes me miss scriptures when they are used in talks. If I am on Zoom for the meeting and the speaker names a scripture, the only thing that takes time is for me to move my mouse to the correct spot on the screen. Once I click, the needed scriptures come right up on the screen.

 

My oldest daughter has a Windows Surface and says she has no complaints with her JWL. She has not timed it but told me she does not experience any lag that she can discern.

 

Personally, I don't need all available material for the JWL on my phone nor do ai need my devices to set speed records. They get to stuff before I possibly could if I were using paper copies of the material and take much less space that the large bookbag I used to take to meetings.

 

I'm glad your Apple devices are meeting your needs. I will stick to my Android and Windows since they fit my needs.

Edited October 21, 2023 by Qapla

[jwhess]

I discovered today that if I open my JW Library, click on the "publications (library)" icon and open to the menu and then select "books" it takes a while to open.  If I close it, then go back to the menu and select "books" again, it opens very quickly.  I believe it is loading the cache while the screen output is delayed.  When I try the second time, the delay is removed because the files are already in the cache.

 

It is 9-10 seconds the first time and less than 1 second for the succeeding times.

[jayrtom]

I have a Samsung s21 ultra and it opens jwl also without me saying "one"

And I always have a bunch of other apps opened

 

Maybe it's the 512gb memory that you must have that is slower than the 128gb that I have. The amount of material downloaded shouldn't impact on the speed to open, but the speed of the media where it is stored yes has an impact

Definitely 60s to open makes me think there is something wrong with the hardware

Even my tablet Samsung a7 lite opens faster!

[Lloyd777]

Right, as I said in my original post:

"Now if you don't download and keep much on your devices, I'm sure JW Library will work fine on both Android and Windows.  But being a bit of a perfectionist and wanting most everything that JW Library has (over 312 GB worth) on each of my 2 devices, as well as my notes, highlighting, and whatever I might import, then Apple is the best choice [for me], yes even with their rather infuriatingly closed ecosystem."

I'm happy that folks are satisfied with their devices, whatever platform one uses.  But if, and please note that I said IF, one wants ALL the material in JW Library on your device (and more) then I'll suggest that, based on my experience and testing, that the Apple products work best for me.  But I would also suggest that one do what works best for him/her.  In fact, a down side to using Apple products that I miss is that, using Windows desktop computers with multiple screens, I can have JW Library and Watchtower Library, and Watchtower Online Library all open and easily available at one time.  Not so easy with an iPad, though I am working on that.  And Watchtower Library (what used to be the CD) just isn't made for Apple at all.

But keep in mind also that with "Playlists," one can add your own videos and audio to JW Library, requiring additional space depending on just how one has things set up.

I'm not a rich man, but I'll always choose the best products I can possibly afford that run what the brothers provide, namely JW Library, Watchtower Library, Watchtower Online Library, etc versus a fancier car or even a fancier house.  A $1500 phone or $3000 iPad sounds like a lot, but compared to a $100,000 Cadillac Escalade, maybe it doesn't seem so drastic.  We put our funds into what we believe to be most important to us individually, right?

I do appreciate the detailed input here from so many.  I read each post and put your various experiences into my thinking.  As one of actor Martin Mull's character once said, "It's been a slice!"