🧪 Test Builds: melonDS with Latency Improvements

Hey everyone!

I'm uploading experimental APKs of melonDS-Android with low-latency tweaks for you to test.

These builds explore two different strategies to improve input timing. Please try them both and let me know which feels smoother on your device.

🔧 What's changed:

• Adjusted Android touch handling for faster input dispatch.

• Reduced internal input buffering to prioritize responsiveness.

• Tweaked frame pacing behavior on some devices.

📦 Builds included:

• MelonDSTestLatency BASE.apk - Base app, try this first!

• MelonDSTestLatency v1.apk

  • Focuses on refactoring input handling on the Android side:

    • Introduced TouchInputListener and restructured TouchscreenInputHandler to request unbuffered dispatch.

    • Motion history is routed through combined pressed-state callbacks to avoid redundant key toggles.

    • MelonTouchHandler now communicates with the native core using a unified setTouchState bridge, replacing separate press/release JNI calls.

• MelonDSTestLatency v2.apk

  • Implements a native lock-free touchscreen queue, input resampling, short-horizon prediction, and host frame latching.

  • Optimizes the JNI bridge and thread handling, modeled after native pipelines in downstream emulator builds.

  • Normalizes MotionEvent history and routes stylus preference through TouchSample, with Choreographer frame times forwarded to native code for improved sync.

📲 Try them out and share your feedback!

These aren’t final, your testing and input will directly influence what makes it into the next stable release.

🎮 What to test:

• Does one version feel noticeably more responsive?

• Any input bugs or dropped touches?

• Try them on different games or devices (especially if you're using a stylus or low-latency display).

• Let me know your device model + Android version when reporting!

Thanks so much for testing these cutting-edge builds, your feedback will directly influence what makes it into the next public release.

—Sapphire