software engineering Archives

AppWizard

May 26, 2026

Google ranks the best AI for building Android apps, and the winner isn’t Gemini

Google launched the Android Bench benchmarking portal in March to help software developers evaluate AI models for Android app development. The leaderboard was updated last week to include open-weight models and new metrics for latency, tokens, and cost. Matthew McCullough, Google's VP of Product for Android Development, stated that the goal is to provide a benchmark for evaluating large language models (LLMs) in Android development. As of May 18, GPT 5.5 is the top AI model for Android app development, with Gemini 3.1 Pro and GPT 5.4 ranked as joint leaders. Android Bench evaluates LLMs based on real-world challenges and tasks sourced from public GitHub repositories. Other benchmarking tools in the Android ecosystem include Jetpack Microbenchmark, Jetpack Macrobenchmark, Firebase Performance Monitoring, Android Vitals, Apptim, and Android Performance Analyzer. The overall benchmark score on Android Bench is calculated using four core values: Confidence Interval Range, Average Latency Score, Average Total Tokens Score, and Average Cost. The test harness for Android Bench is publicly available on GitHub.

Winsage

May 19, 2026

Microsoft plans to improve Windows 11 driver quality in 2026

Microsoft is launching the Driver Quality Initiative (DQI) to improve the quality of Windows 11 drivers, which are crucial for the operating system's performance. The initiative includes four pillars: encouraging the use of safer user-mode drivers, implementing rigorous partner verification processes, enhancing the Windows Update catalog, and focusing on stability and performance. Microsoft plans to collaborate with partners like AMD and Intel to achieve these goals. AMD's Director of Software Engineering emphasized that driver quality is a shared commitment. Additionally, Microsoft aims to enhance Windows 11 by reintroducing features like a movable taskbar and improving performance for lower memory devices, with gradual improvements expected in the coming months.

Winsage

May 14, 2026

Raising the bar together. Introducing the Driver Quality Initiative at WinHEC 2026

The Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2026 took place in Taipei, marking Microsoft's return to the event after a hiatus since 2018. The conference focused on the Driver Quality Initiative (DQI), aimed at improving driver quality, reliability, and security on the Windows platform. The DQI is built on four pillars: Architecture, Trust, Lifecycle, and Quality Measures. Key themes discussed included the importance of collaboration among stakeholders, enhancing Windows 11 quality, and fostering innovation through strong foundational practices. Attendees participated in workshops and hands-on labs to deepen their understanding of driver development and compatibility testing. Partners expressed a shared commitment to improving driver and platform quality, emphasizing the need for transparency and ongoing engagement. Microsoft plans to continue investing in reliability, security, performance, compatibility, and quality in collaboration with its partners.

Winsage

May 13, 2026

Former Windows boss reveals why modern Windows 11 apps feel slower, says Microsoft once gave every engineer a stopwatch

Steven Sinofsky, former head of the Windows Division at Microsoft, discussed the company's engineering culture and its focus on resource management from 1980 to 2000, where every engineer was given a physical stopwatch to measure various performance metrics. This practice emphasized optimizing software for speed and efficiency, a stark contrast to modern applications that consume significant RAM due to shifts in market dynamics and hardware advancements. The current trend prioritizes rapid feature deployment over optimization, leading to performance issues in applications. Microsoft is responding to criticism by enhancing the performance of Windows 11, focusing on native desktop applications and optimizing core components, including the Start menu and File Explorer. They are also testing new CPU scheduling profiles to reduce micro-lags during user interactions.

Winsage

May 11, 2026

Microsoft denies Windows 11 CPU boost trick is a lazy fix, says Apple does this and you love it

The Low Latency Profile feature in Windows 11 temporarily increases CPU frequency to improve responsiveness for high-priority tasks, benefiting even low-powered virtual machines. It is currently available in Windows 11 Insider builds and aims to optimize performance with minimal impact on battery life and thermal performance. Critics have labeled it a "band-aid" solution for a bloated operating system, while Microsoft’s VP Scott Hanselman defended it as a standard practice in modern operating systems. He noted that the feature is particularly effective on ARM architecture, such as Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips, and explained that the complexity of contemporary Start menus requires more processing power than older versions. Microsoft is working to streamline the Start menu while also enhancing performance through the Low Latency Profile.

Winsage

May 5, 2026

Microsoft’s new Windows 11 Run dialog is faster than the Windows 95-era version it’s replacing

Microsoft is developing a modernized version of the Run dialog for Windows 11, featuring a streamlined design created using C# and WinUI 3. The new Run dialog has a median "time-to-show" of 94 milliseconds, which is an improvement over the old dialog's 103 milliseconds. This new version is designed to be more functional and user-friendly, allowing users to quickly access their home directory and supporting dark mode. The modern Run dialog is currently being rolled out as an opt-in feature for Insiders in the Experimental Channel.

Winsage

April 4, 2026

‘Every Microsoft engineer got a stopwatch,’ says Windows veteran reminiscing about company’s past focus on speed — asserts that ‘everything’ was timed to ensure acceptable performance in the 1980s

Steven Sinofsky, a former president of Microsoft’s Windows Division, reflected on the coding practices at Microsoft during the 1980s, highlighting that every engineer received a stopwatch to promote efficiency. He noted that these stopwatches were used for tasks such as scroll speed, boot time, and resource management. Sinofsky stated that from 1980 to 2000, managing resource usage constituted half of software engineering. He shared a humorous anecdote about a colleague's request for a free stopwatch in 1993, which was deemed too expensive by Microsoft. In response to criticism regarding the performance of its Windows operating system, Microsoft has committed to improving performance, reducing overhead, and enhancing reliability across its services. The company aims to be more intentional about resource utilization and feature integration.

AppWizard

March 13, 2026

Patch Me If You Can: AI Codemods for Secure-by-Default Android Apps

Meta’s Product Security team has developed a strategy to enhance mobile security through two main initiatives: creating secure-by-default frameworks that make secure Android OS APIs more accessible for developers, and utilizing generative AI to automate the migration of existing code to these frameworks. This approach allows for efficient large-scale updates and the ability to propose, validate, and submit security patches across millions of lines of code.

AppWizard

March 6, 2026

Google says these AI models are best at coding Android apps

Google is testing various AI models for Android app development through a new platform called “Android Bench,” which evaluates the performance of leading AI language models (LLMs) against benchmarks specific to Android development. The benchmarks assess capabilities in areas such as Jetpack Compose, asynchronous programming, data persistence, dependency injection, navigation migrations, Gradle/build configurations, and interaction with Android components. Google has identified Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview as the top-performing model with a score of 72.4%, followed by Claude Opus 4.6 at 66.6% and OpenAI’s GPT 5.2 Codex at 62.5%. Gemini 2.5 Flash scored the lowest at 16.1%.

Winsage

February 26, 2026

Announcing new Cloud PC devices designed for Windows 365

In 2024, Microsoft launched Windows 365 Link, a new category of devices designed for quick access to Windows 365 Cloud PCs, enhancing IT management and security. Microsoft is collaborating with ASUS and Dell to expand the Cloud PC device portfolio. The ASUS NUC 16 for Windows 365 is a mini-PC with a 0.7L design, supporting up to three displays, expected to be available in Europe and the U.S. by Q3 2026. The Dell Pro Desktop for Windows 365 is a compact, fanless desktop that also supports three displays and will be available in 58 countries by Q3 2026. Both devices boot directly into Windows 365 and are managed through Microsoft Intune. Key updates for the Windows CPC operating system are planned for Q2 2026, including Bluetooth pairing support and tenant branding features. Windows 365 Link is currently available in 20 countries, with plans for market expansion.