How we got Pokemon Go running on this lower-end device with DU Speed Booster

If you have a brand new, high-end Android device, your mobile life tends to be pretty easy. After all, just about everything you run on it will work smoothly, from games to apps. Of course, not all of us have top-of-the-line brand new devices, and that’s why sometimes it’s nice to have a little help. That’s where utility apps can lend a hand. There are a handful of such apps out there, including DU Speed Booster, Greenify, Clean Master and others.

For this article, we’ll be checking out DU Speed Booster to see just how well it can bring the speed — specifically in terms of Pokemon Go.

The mobile world continues to evolve at a frantic pace, and that means the processing power required to handle your favorites apps and games is steadily on the rise. This is especially true for popular games like Pokemon Go, which not only require a reasonable amount of graphical prowess, but also utilize a variety of sensors as well. All of this can take a pretty big toll on your handset.

Can a free utility app like DU Speed Booster help even the score? That’s what we aim to explore in this feature.

Editor’s note: This post is sponsored by the makers of DU Speed Booster. 

What is DU Speed Booster – how does it work

Let’s begin by discussing what it is that DU Speed Booster does. While the app has a variety of functions, the key components are its ability to clean trash via the aptly named Trash Cleaner, and boost performance through the Phone Boost function.

Starting with Phone Boost, this feature shows you apps that are wasting the phone’s memory resources in the background, and lets you release this RAM in order to give your device a bit more speed.

Trash Cleaning simply scans your phone for files, cache, and other remnants that are taking up extra space on your device. By clearing these files, you can theoretically improve how fast the phone functions throughout the UI, in games, and more.

Beyond these functions, the app also has a number of other features including a virus scanner, a network speed tester and optimizer, an app manager that is similar to the one built into Android but with further options, and lastly, a game optimizer.

Of these additional features, Game Booster was what really caught our attention. After all, gaming is one of the most intensive tasks a phone can perform, so anything that can potentially help out an older or lower-end phone keep up sounds wonderful to us.

The test subjects

In order to better get to know the DU Speed Booster we decided to load it up on a few different devices.

Because we wanted to see how a phone might perform with or without the booster, we purchased two BLU R1 HD handsets and loaded up the same files, apps, and used both as daily drivers for a few days in order to clutter them up the best we could for testing.

Of course, a few days of clutter doesn’t reflect the mangled state many of our phones are in after months, or even years, of use. That’s why we also loaded up the app on our aging Moto G 4G LTE, a phone that has been around the block for a long while now and is crammed tight with all sorts of apps.

Our results

Let’s start by talking about how well the speed boosting and trash cleaning worked.

First, yes, there were quite a few rogue apps taking up extra battery life on both of the BLU HD R1 and the Moto G. There were also a number of files that needed cleaning, though obviously the Moto G needed a lot more love, due to the fact we’ve been using it for various things around the office for years. But did things actually run noticeably faster?

Honestly, the results were a bit on the mild side with the BLU R1 HD. We did notice that the UI seemed slightly faster on the phone that ran DU Speed Booster and had been successfully run through all the main app options. The same experience continued into gaming, where we found that apps started several seconds faster but ultimately played about the same on the BLU R1 HD that had the speed booster as they did on the model without. Still, any improvement is a positive one and a testament to the fact that speed boosting programs can make a difference in device performance.

Here’s a real short clip that shows how apps seemingly booted a bit faster with DU Speed Booster onboard:

Turning to the Moto G, things got a bit more interesting. While we had just one Moto G present, making side-by-side comparisons impossible, we made sure to load up games like Pokemon Go before running the speed booster, and after. And that’s where things really heated up.

On the Moto G, Pokemon Go would crash and burn right at the logo screen. That was that. The UI was also extremely sluggish throughout, which isn’t surprising considering the phone has been through quite a bit.

After running the DU Speed Booster app, we were able to recover around 300MB of space, on a phone that only had 8GB to begin with. Using the app manager we also took a closer look at what apps were on the phone, and what needed further moving.

Next, we ran DU Speed Booster and recovered around 64MB RAM. Finally, we tossed Pokemon Go through the app optimizer. Now I’m not sure which of these things, or a combination of both, made the difference, but the game finally booted up!

While the game itself wasn’t perfect, as AR didn’t work due to a missing sensor, it was perfectly playable nonetheless. This was undoubtedly a massive improvement from the state of not running at all. We also played around with several other games on the Moto G including Clash of Clans, Minecraft: Pocket Edition, and Subway Surfers. All ran better after the speed booster tests and optimizations had ran, though the effects were really subtle on Clash of Clans and Subway Surfers.

The Takeaway

Based on our own tests, the true impact of DU Speed Booster can most obviously be seen with a device that has been actively used for months or more. This makes sense, as the nature of an operating system is that as you use it, the file system clutters up and gradually slows things down. With DU Speed Booster, your aging devices will feel as close to that “out of the box speed” as you’ll get without doing a full system reset on your phone.

Still, even with only a few days of use, the BLU R1 HD saw at least a modicum of improvement when using the app and likely if we were to test again a few months down the road, the difference would be much more significant.

Of course it’s important to note that in real world use, results will vary. DU Speed Booster has a number of features, and while it’s easy enough to learn, mastering all the functions takes a bit more time and so the performance improvement will all come down to what tools you are using, and how often you are using it.

The big takeaway is if you have an older flagship or a low to mid-range device, this app could be a perfect companion for making the very most out of your smartphone experience, especially when it comes down to gaming.

On a side note – For anyone who wants to win some free cash, DU Speed Booster and DU Battery Saver are holding a contest called “DU – Dream More” to celebrate the anniversary of their mascot Super DU. According to the app homepage, you can win up to USD $5,000 — definitely not too shabby. Download the apps here and here for a chance to win a lot of money.