mashable.com
Whether you’re an Android or an iPhone user, odds are you have a gripe or two about your phone’s battery life. It’s the number one complaint among cell phone users, and unfortunately, there haven’t been many breakthroughs in cell battery tech. As apps continue to get more sophisticated, they’re also sucking more of the life out of your phone’s battery. [showmyads]
Almost all smartphone users download apps, which explains why we’re all familiar with the agony of being down to 10% battery by 5 p.m. We’re not suggesting you should give up your Twitter or Google Maps apps, but learning which of your apps are the most battery draining can help you make smarter decisions using your smartphone.
1. Carat
While “battery saving” apps may help you keep track of the amount of battery your using for which app, some of their features can do more harm than good, like Carat’s location services tracker.
2. Facebook
The Facebook app was outed earlier this summer for it’s excessive battery usage. The app refreshes even when running in the background. Fifteen minutes of Facebook time, assuming there are no videos, can use 5 MB of data.
3. Maps
Map apps, specifically Google Maps (because let’s be honest, is anyone using Apple Maps?), can destroy your battery life with their constant use of the phone’s GPS location services. Ten minutes of Google Maps usage can use up to 6 MB.
4. Camera
Your phone’s camera app may not do much damage on days where you’re not snapping a lot of photos. However, if you’re capturing a lot of pics while at a party or on vacation, your battery life will take a hit if you don’t remember to turn off your geolocation services.
5. Weather
The same goes for your weather app. It constantly refreshes when you change locations and experience changes in the weather.
6. Skype
Like Facebook, Skype doesn’t break the connection to the server when you don’t close out the app. Make sure to sign up if you don’t want your battery drained and are prone to unexpected calls on Skype.
7. Twitter
Not to be left out of the social media app drain, Twitter also takes a toll on battery by constantly refreshing even when running in the background. While it helps your feed load faster when you do finally open the app, it’ll drain your battery quickly.
8. Square Wallet
Square Wallet — the wallet app that combines easy payment with a restaurant discovery service — has had serious troubles with battery life in the past. The app uses geo-fencing, so it’s going to use about 6 MB of data every ten minutes, like your map app. Additionally, the app updates itself fairly frequently, which can negatively affect battery life.
9. Angry Birds
“Free” games — which always come with advertising — can cause an unexpected drain on your battery. While the 3D graphics of more sophisticated games is an obvious battery suck, the pop-up advertising of the free versions is what causes the gradual drain of your battery. Game data can vary greatly, so check the descriptions in the App Store or Google Play.
