GoKawiil
Tech News
A GrapheneOS user running a Pixel 8 for about a year found that OsmAnd, the OpenStreetMap navigation app, runs noticeably slower than on other Android devices. Investigation traced the lag to GrapheneOS's hardened memory allocator, which can be disabled per-app via the app's info screen under 'Exploit protection,' restoring normal speed after a restart.
The jemalloc project shipped version 5.4.0, a maintenance-focused update spanning more than 160 commits aimed at reducing technical debt through refactoring, bug fixes, expanded test coverage, and portability fixes. Key additions include an EXTENT_ALLOC_FLAG_PINNED flag letting custom allocation hooks mark non-reclaimable mappings like HugeTLB pages for preferential reuse, plus new mallctl interfaces to report pinned-memory and mutex statistics. The update also replaces the old fixed tcache refill/flush policy with a dynamic system that adapts to observed demand, removing seven legacy tuning controls in the process.