Creating a new game - 1 item on screen... choppy?

Hey all,

I have been a game developer for almost 20 years (mostly flash/html5). I have a great idea for a new game but thought, if I was gunna make it, i'll do it right and write it in native code (ie. java for android).

I followed a very basic tutorial that made a background image scroll across the screen.

I was super disappointed when i went to run it on my device (Galaxy Note 4) and the performance was not perfect. I expected it to run at a full 60 FPS without issues as all i'm doing is moving 1 image across the screen). What i saw was it kinda smooth but with the occasional stutter.

I don't want to take the time to build a full featured game when I can't even have 1 image scroll smoothly.

Am i missing something? Thanks!