xservzeroman · Oct 22, 2026
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,18 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 1.0-test253 (2026-10-22)
+- UI review, first round (handheld): faster and lighter, same look.
+  - Settings: moving down the groups rebuilt the whole screen at every step; it now waits until focus rests on a group (160 ms).
+  - Home and All games work out the games list once per redraw instead of 3 times, and "On this device" keeps its list, app names and icons in memory (refreshed when MoonCast comes back to the front, for installs and updates meanwhile).
+  - Tile pictures: which tiles have one is read from disk once, not checked per tile per redraw; the picture cache counts bytes (about 24 MB), and each picture's colour is worked out once.
+  - Add apps loads the app list and icons off the main thread; switching Games / All apps reuses them.
+  - The focus ring's breathing stops while MoonCast isn't in front (it redrew the ring 60 times a second in the background).
+  - Focus and scroll listeners were added again on every rotation or fold; now once.
+  - Stats corner and Quick menu: the numbers are only set when they changed (a new text lays the player out again).
+  - L1/R1 on All games skipped the This <device> tab.
+  - The focus ring fits the Add apps chips and app cells.
+  - TalkBack: tiles, the round buttons and Back say what they are.
+
 ## 1.0-test252 (2026-10-22)
 - Adding more apps was hard to find (only All games, This <device>, Add apps). Now also: an **Add apps** tile on Home, always there before All games, and **Settings, Handheld, Apps on this <device>** (shows how many are added). All three open the same picker.
 

diff --git a/app/src/handheld/java/com/limelight/handheld/HandheldHomeActivity.kt b/app/src/handheld/java/com/limelight/handheld/HandheldHomeActivity.kt
@@ -101,6 +101,7 @@ class HandheldHomeActivity : Activity() {
     private lateinit var foot: LinearLayout
     private lateinit var overlay: FrameLayout
     private lateinit var glide: FocusGlide
+    private var treeHooked = false
     private var padName: TextView? = null
     private var portrait = false
     private val ui = Handler(Looper.getMainLooper())
@@ -216,6 +217,8 @@ class HandheldHomeActivity : Activity() {
         super.onResume()
         resumed = true
         resumedAt = android.os.SystemClock.elapsedRealtime()
+        if (::glide.isInitialized) glide.resumeBreath()
+        com.limelight.home.DeviceApps.refresh()   // apps may have been installed, updated or removed meanwhile
         // anonymous usage check-in: once a day if the user said yes; the question once, a moment after home is up
         com.limelight.home.Usage.checkIn(this)
         if (com.limelight.home.Usage.shouldAsk(this)) ui.postDelayed({
@@ -244,6 +247,8 @@ class HandheldHomeActivity : Activity() {
         holdMulticast(false)
         stopPolling()
         ui.removeCallbacks(tick)
+        ui.removeCallbacks(groupRender)
+        if (::glide.isInitialized) glide.pauseBreath()
         super.onPause()
     }
 
@@ -456,6 +461,7 @@ class HandheldHomeActivity : Activity() {
 
     /** Every game: each PS5 and Xbox (one tile per console) and every PC game that isn't hidden. */
     private fun allGames(): List<Game> {
+        if (memoOn) gamesMemo?.let { return it }
         val out = ArrayList<Game>()
         consoles.forEach { c ->
             val st = psStatus[c.host]
@@ -469,6 +475,7 @@ class HandheldHomeActivity : Activity() {
                 out += Game("pc:${pc.uuid}:${a.appId}", a.appName, "PC", a.appName, a.appId == pc.runningGameId, pc = pc, app = a)
             }
         }
+        if (memoOn) gamesMemo = out
         return out
     }
 
@@ -549,16 +556,21 @@ class HandheldHomeActivity : Activity() {
                 val t = v.tag as? String
                 when {
                     v.getTag(R.id.hh_pill) == true -> 9999f
-                    t != null && (t.startsWith("rb:") || t.startsWith("pill:") || t.startsWith("tab:") || t.startsWith("dock:")) -> 9999f
+                    t != null && (t.startsWith("rb:") || t.startsWith("pill:") || t.startsWith("tab:") || t.startsWith("dock:") || t.startsWith("chip:")) -> 9999f
+                    t != null && t.startsWith("app:") -> sw.pxf(13 + 22)
                     t != null && t.startsWith("g:") -> sw.pxf(13 + sw.tileCorner)
                     else -> null
                 }
             }
             accept = { v -> v !is EditText }
             breathe = true
         }.attach()
-        root.viewTreeObserver.addOnGlobalFocusChangeListener { _, n -> onFocus(n) }
-        root.viewTreeObserver.addOnScrollChangedListener { placeName() }
+        // once per window: buildShell runs again on every rotation or fold, and each run used to add another pair
+        if (!treeHooked) {
+            treeHooked = true
+            window.decorView.viewTreeObserver.addOnGlobalFocusChangeListener { _, n -> onFocus(n) }
+            window.decorView.viewTreeObserver.addOnScrollChangedListener { placeName() }
+        }
         snack = null
         FeelSounds.warm(this)
         lastPage = null
@@ -585,6 +597,15 @@ class HandheldHomeActivity : Activity() {
         Profile.syncPcSettings(this)
         val sig = signature()
         if (!force && sig == lastSig) return
+        gamesMemo = null; memoOn = true
+        try { renderPage(sig) } finally { memoOn = false; gamesMemo = null }
+    }
+
+    /** allGames() is asked for several times per render (Home's row, the wash, the selected game): work it out once. */
+    private var gamesMemo: List<Game>? = null
+    private var memoOn = false
+
+    private fun renderPage(sig: String) {
         lastSig = sig
         val entering = lastPage != page
         lastPage = page
@@ -661,7 +682,7 @@ class HandheldHomeActivity : Activity() {
             }, sw.lp(-2, 84))
         } else {
             // a back button you can tap: a touch screen has no B (the same as B / the system back)
-            topBar.addView(roundButton("top:back", "back", sw.ink, 84, sw.panel) { onBackPressed() }.apply { isFocusable = false },
+            topBar.addView(roundButton("top:back", "back", sw.ink, 84, sw.panel) { onBackPressed() }.apply { isFocusable = false; contentDescription = "Back" },
                     sw.lp(84, 84).apply { rightMargin = sw.px(24) })
             topBar.addView(sw.text(page.title, 44, sw.ink, 800))
         }
@@ -790,6 +811,7 @@ class HandheldHomeActivity : Activity() {
         listOf(Triple("Consoles", "consoles", Sw.C_CYAN), Triple(if (labelsShown) "Play on TV" else "Play on a TV", "tv", Sw.C_AMBER), Triple("Controllers", "pad", Sw.C_BLUE),
                 Triple(if (labelsShown) "Network" else "Network test", "net", Sw.C_GREEN), Triple("Settings", "gear", sw.sub), Triple("Exit", "power", Sw.C_RED)).forEachIndexed { i, (label, icon, color) ->
             val btn = roundButton("rb:$icon", icon, color, 112, sw.panel) { roundAction(icon) }
+            btn.contentDescription = label
             val lab = sw.text(label, 27, if (labelsShown) sw.label else sw.ring, 700).apply { gravity = Gravity.CENTER_HORIZONTAL; visibility = if (labelsShown) View.VISIBLE else View.INVISIBLE }
             rbLabels += btn to lab
             if (portrait) {
@@ -852,8 +874,9 @@ class HandheldHomeActivity : Activity() {
         val f = FrameLayout(this)
         f.tag = tag
         f.setTag(R.id.hh_title, label)
+        f.contentDescription = label
         val custom = g?.let { com.limelight.home.CustomArt.bitmap(this, it.key) }
-        val appColor = if (custom != null) com.limelight.home.CustomArt.color(custom)
+        val appColor = if (custom != null) com.limelight.home.CustomArt.color(g!!.key, custom)
                        else g?.dev?.let { com.limelight.home.DeviceApps.color(this, it.pkg) } ?: 0
         f.setTag(R.id.hh_tint, if (appColor != 0) appColor else if (g != null) sw.tint(g.seed) else 0)
         f.clipToOutline = true
@@ -1252,7 +1275,15 @@ class HandheldHomeActivity : Activity() {
      * "On this device": a grid of the installed apps with their icons, games first. A tap adds or removes an app at
      * once (a ✓ and a green ring mark what's added) and the grid stays as it is, so you can pick several.
      */
+    /** Opens Add apps; the first time, the app list and icons load off the main thread (hundreds of apps took a moment). */
     private fun pickDeviceApps() {
+        Thread {
+            com.limelight.home.DeviceApps.installed(this).forEach { com.limelight.home.DeviceApps.icon(this, it.pkg) }
+            runOnUiThread { if (!isFinishing && resumed) showPicker() }
+        }.start()
+    }
+
+    private fun showPicker() {
         val all = com.limelight.home.DeviceApps.installed(this)
         if (all.isEmpty()) { toast("No apps found on this ${deviceShort()}"); return }
         val games = all.filter { it.isGame }
@@ -1276,7 +1307,7 @@ class HandheldHomeActivity : Activity() {
                 background = sw.round(if (on) sw.ink else sw.bg, 30)
                 sw.focusable(this)
                 setOnClickListener {
-                    if (pickerFilter != k) { pickerFilter = k; FeelSounds.play(this@HandheldHomeActivity, FeelSounds.Cue.TAB); pickDeviceApps()
+                    if (pickerFilter != k) { pickerFilter = k; FeelSounds.play(this@HandheldHomeActivity, FeelSounds.Cue.TAB); showPicker()
                         this@HandheldHomeActivity.overlay.findViewWithTag<View>("chip:$k")?.requestFocus() }
                 }
             }, sw.lp(-2, 60).apply { if (i > 0) leftMargin = sw.px(14) })
@@ -1335,6 +1366,8 @@ class HandheldHomeActivity : Activity() {
         showOverlay("picker", card, wide = true)
     }
 
+    private val groupRender = Runnable { if (resumed && page == Page.SETTINGS) render(force = true) }
+
     // ---------------------------------------------------------------- Settings
 
     private val groups = listOf("handheld" to "Handheld", "picture" to "Picture", "sound" to "Sound", "pads" to "Controllers",
@@ -1351,7 +1384,9 @@ class HandheldHomeActivity : Activity() {
                 if (on) addView(View(this@HandheldHomeActivity).apply { background = sw.round(sw.ring, 3) }, sw.flp(6, -1).apply { topMargin = sw.px(18); bottomMargin = sw.px(18) })
                 addView(sw.text(label, 30, if (on) sw.ring else sw.sub, 700).apply { gravity = Gravity.CENTER_VERTICAL; setPadding(sw.px(28), 0, 0, 0) }, FrameLayout.LayoutParams(-1, -1))
                 sw.focusable(this)
-                setOnFocusChangeListener { _, has -> if (has && settingsGroup != k) { settingsGroup = k; licencesOpen = false; ui.post { render(force = true) } } }
+                // moving down the sidebar rebuilt the whole screen at every step: wait until focus rests on a group
+                setOnFocusChangeListener { _, has -> if (has && settingsGroup != k) { settingsGroup = k; licencesOpen = false
+                    ui.removeCallbacks(groupRender); ui.postDelayed(groupRender, 160) } }
                 setOnClickListener {
                     settingsGroup = k; licencesOpen = false
                     render(force = true)
@@ -2346,7 +2381,7 @@ class HandheldHomeActivity : Activity() {
                     val step = if (e.keyCode == KeyEvent.KEYCODE_BUTTON_L1) -1 else 1
                     when (page) {
                         Page.GAMES -> {
-                            val tabs = listOf("all", "pc", "ps", "xb")
+                            val tabs = listOf("all", "pc", "ps", "xb", "dev")
                             gamesTab = tabs[(tabs.indexOf(gamesTab) + step + tabs.size) % tabs.size]
                             FeelSounds.play(this, FeelSounds.Cue.TAB, 0.3f * step); render(force = true); return true
                         }

diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/limelight/home/CustomArt.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/limelight/home/CustomArt.kt
@@ -15,20 +15,30 @@ import java.security.MessageDigest
  */
 object CustomArt {
     private const val MAX = 900   // the longest side kept: sharp on the biggest tiles, small on disk
-    private val cache = LruCache<String, Bitmap>(24)
+    // pictures by bytes (about 24 MB), not by count: 24 pictures of 900 px could take 50 MB
+    private val cache = object : LruCache<String, Bitmap>(24 * 1024 * 1024) {
+        override fun sizeOf(key: String, value: Bitmap) = value.byteCount
+    }
+    // which keys have a picture, read from disk once: asking the disk for every tile on every redraw cost 100 file checks
+    private var known: MutableSet<String>? = null
+    private val colors = HashMap<String, Int>()
 
-    private fun file(c: Context, key: String): File {
-        val name = MessageDigest.getInstance("SHA-1").digest(key.toByteArray()).joinToString("") { "%02x".format(it) }
-        return File(File(c.filesDir, "tile-art").apply { mkdirs() }, "$name.jpg")
+    private fun knownKeys(c: Context): MutableSet<String> = known ?: HashSet<String>().also { set ->
+        File(c.filesDir, "tile-art").list()?.forEach { set += it.removeSuffix(".jpg") }
+        known = set
     }
 
-    @JvmStatic fun has(c: Context, key: String) = file(c, key).exists()
+    private fun hash(key: String) = MessageDigest.getInstance("SHA-1").digest(key.toByteArray()).joinToString("") { "%02x".format(it) }
+
+    private fun file(c: Context, key: String) = File(File(c.filesDir, "tile-art").apply { mkdirs() }, "${hash(key)}.jpg")
+
+    @JvmStatic fun has(c: Context, key: String) = hash(key) in knownKeys(c)
 
     /** The picture for [key], or null when there's none. */
     @JvmStatic fun bitmap(c: Context, key: String): Bitmap? {
         cache.get(key)?.let { return it }
+        if (!has(c, key)) return null
         val f = file(c, key)
-        if (!f.exists()) return null
         return BitmapFactory.decodeFile(f.path)?.also { cache.put(key, it) }
     }
 
@@ -49,14 +59,14 @@ object CustomArt {
                 ?: throw IllegalStateException("unreadable")
         }
         file(c, key).outputStream().use { bmp.compress(Bitmap.CompressFormat.JPEG, 88, it) }
-        cache.put(key, bmp)
+        cache.put(key, bmp); knownKeys(c) += hash(key); colors.remove(key)
         true
     } catch (e: Exception) {
         android.util.Log.w("MoonCast", "custom picture: $e"); false
     }
 
-    @JvmStatic fun clear(c: Context, key: String) { file(c, key).delete(); cache.remove(key) }
+    @JvmStatic fun clear(c: Context, key: String) { file(c, key).delete(); cache.remove(key); knownKeys(c) -= hash(key); colors.remove(key) }
 
-    /** The picture's average colour, for the background wash. */
-    @JvmStatic fun color(b: Bitmap): Int = Bitmap.createScaledBitmap(b, 1, 1, true).getPixel(0, 0)
+    /** The picture's average colour, for the background wash (worked out once per picture). */
+    @JvmStatic fun color(key: String, b: Bitmap): Int = colors.getOrPut(key) { Bitmap.createScaledBitmap(b, 1, 1, true).getPixel(0, 0) }
 }
diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/limelight/home/DeviceApps.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/limelight/home/DeviceApps.kt
@@ -20,12 +20,23 @@ object DeviceApps {
 
     private fun store(c: Context) = c.getSharedPreferences("mc_tv", Context.MODE_PRIVATE)
 
+    // Kept in memory: the home screen asks on every redraw, and each answer was a JSON parse plus a PackageManager
+    // call per app. refresh() (on resume) drops what may have changed outside MoonCast: installs, updates, removals.
+    private var pinnedCache: List<String>? = null
+    private val infoCache = java.util.Collections.synchronizedMap(HashMap<String, App?>())
+    private var installedCache: List<App>? = null
+    private val iconCache = android.util.LruCache<String, Drawable>(64)
+
+    @JvmStatic fun refresh() {
+        infoCache.clear(); installedCache = null; iconCache.evictAll(); colors.clear()
+    }
+
     /** The picked apps that are still installed, in the order they were added. */
     @JvmStatic fun pinned(c: Context): List<App> = pinnedPkgs(c).mapNotNull { info(c, it) }
 
-    private fun pinnedPkgs(c: Context): List<String> = try {
+    private fun pinnedPkgs(c: Context): List<String> = pinnedCache ?: try {
         val a = JSONArray(store(c).getString(PREF, "[]")); (0 until a.length()).map { a.getString(it) }
-    } catch (e: Exception) { emptyList() }
+    } catch (e: Exception) { emptyList<String>() }.also { pinnedCache = it }
 
     @JvmStatic fun isPinned(c: Context, pkg: String) = pkg in pinnedPkgs(c)
 
@@ -35,10 +46,12 @@ object DeviceApps {
 
     @JvmStatic fun remove(c: Context, pkg: String) = save(c, pinnedPkgs(c) - pkg)
 
-    private fun save(c: Context, l: List<String>) = store(c).edit().putString(PREF, JSONArray(l).toString()).apply()
+    private fun save(c: Context, l: List<String>) { pinnedCache = l; store(c).edit().putString(PREF, JSONArray(l).toString()).apply() }
 
     /** Every app with a launcher entry (phone or TV launcher), not MoonCast (any of its copies): games first, then A to Z. */
-    @JvmStatic fun installed(c: Context): List<App> {
+    @JvmStatic fun installed(c: Context): List<App> = installedCache ?: listInstalled(c).also { installedCache = it }
+
+    private fun listInstalled(c: Context): List<App> {
         val pm = c.packageManager
         val pkgs = LinkedHashSet<String>()
         for (cat in listOf(Intent.CATEGORY_LAUNCHER, Intent.CATEGORY_LEANBACK_LAUNCHER)) {
@@ -49,22 +62,28 @@ object DeviceApps {
         return pkgs.mapNotNull { info(c, it) }.sortedWith(compareByDescending<App> { it.isGame }.thenBy { it.label.lowercase() })
     }
 
-    @JvmStatic fun info(c: Context, pkg: String): App? = try {
-        @Suppress("DEPRECATION") val ai = c.packageManager.getApplicationInfo(pkg, 0)
-        App(pkg, c.packageManager.getApplicationLabel(ai).toString(), isGame(ai))
-    } catch (e: PackageManager.NameNotFoundException) { null }
+    @JvmStatic fun info(c: Context, pkg: String): App? = infoCache.getOrPut(pkg) {
+        try {
+            @Suppress("DEPRECATION") val ai = c.packageManager.getApplicationInfo(pkg, 0)
+            App(pkg, c.packageManager.getApplicationLabel(ai).toString(), isGame(ai))
+        } catch (e: PackageManager.NameNotFoundException) { null }
+    }
 
     @Suppress("DEPRECATION")
     private fun isGame(ai: ApplicationInfo) =
         (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= 26 && ai.category == ApplicationInfo.CATEGORY_GAME) || (ai.flags and ApplicationInfo.FLAG_IS_GAME) != 0
 
     /** The app's icon; on a TV its wide banner when it has one. */
-    @JvmStatic fun icon(c: Context, pkg: String, tvBanner: Boolean = false): Drawable? = try {
-        val pm = c.packageManager
-        (if (tvBanner) pm.getApplicationBanner(pkg) else null) ?: pm.getApplicationIcon(pkg)
-    } catch (e: Exception) { null }
+    @JvmStatic fun icon(c: Context, pkg: String, tvBanner: Boolean = false): Drawable? {
+        val k = if (tvBanner) "$pkg#banner" else pkg
+        iconCache.get(k)?.let { return it.constantState?.newDrawable() ?: it }
+        return try {
+            val pm = c.packageManager
+            ((if (tvBanner) pm.getApplicationBanner(pkg) else null) ?: pm.getApplicationIcon(pkg)).also { iconCache.put(k, it) }
+        } catch (e: Exception) { null }
+    }
 
-    private val colors = HashMap<String, Int>()
+    private val colors = java.util.Collections.synchronizedMap(HashMap<String, Int>())
 
     /**
      * The app's own colour, from its icon: the strongest hue among its vivid pixels, toned down so white text reads

diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/limelight/home/Feel.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/limelight/home/Feel.kt
@@ -200,6 +200,10 @@ class FocusGlide(private val host: FrameLayout) : View(host.context) {
         (parent as? ViewGroup)?.removeView(this)
     }
 
+    /** Stop the breathing while the screen isn't in front: it redrew the ring 60 times a second in the background. */
+    fun pauseBreath() { breath?.pause() }
+    fun resumeBreath() { breath?.resume() }
+
     private fun startBreath() {
         breath?.cancel(); breath = null
         if (reduced()) return

diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/limelight/home/QuickMenu.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/limelight/home/QuickMenu.kt
@@ -267,7 +267,7 @@ class QuickMenu(private val act: Activity) {
                 if (switchStyle) {
                     val sv = short(s[i]).first
                     if (v.text.toString() != sv) { v.text = sv; v.setTextSize(android.util.TypedValue.COMPLEX_UNIT_PX, st.pxf(statSize(sv))) }
-                } else v.text = s[i].first
+                } else if (v.text.toString() != s[i].first) v.text = s[i].first
             }
             ui.postDelayed(this, 1000)
         }