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Apps And Battery Life

By On · Add Comment · In feature, technology


They say the miser pays twice. I’ve seen it countless times in reality with physical products — cheap mice falling apart, a Meow Meow Co. power supply failing, etc — but it looks like now we can’t even download an ad-supported copy of Bejeweled without getting bitten in the ass by this old truism. According to a study conducted by researchers from Microsoft and Purdue University, 75% of the energy used by free Android apps is used to serve ads. And that’s being generous — one app could drain your battery in around 90 minutes, according to the research.

That may seem ridiculously high for just an ad, but most embedded ads aren’t only a simple rotating picture. The user-tailored ads send your location data to the ad server and then download location-specific content via the wireless network. Just that step alone consumes 45% of the total app CPU usage for Angry Birds. That’s power that could be used to make the birds fly smoother and angrier.

Astute readers are probably crying foul about the Android bent of the research — iOS has ad-supported apps, as well. It’s true that all ad-supported apps suck juice, regardless of platform. The only thing I can think being different about iOS is its lack of Flash ads, which would be even more battery draining. Thankfully, Adobe’s putting a bullet in the head of mobile Flash. That will soon pay off for all users who once thought this flashy scourge was a good thing.

Read more: Here

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