Facebook has identified flaws in its iOS app causing excessive battery drain.
Many iPhone users have claimed that the Facebook app has been one of the biggest power hogs since the iOS 9 update hit in September. Last week, Facebook admitted this to be the case.
In a recent Facebook post, engineering manager Ari Grant revealed that the company had investigated the claims and had “found a few key issues.” He also apologised for the inconvenience caused.
It seems Facebook has already begun to address these issues in the latest version of the Facebook app.
The first issue the company uncovered was a “CPU spin” in their network code. Grant likens a CPU spin to a child repeatedly asking “are we there yet?” It’s a pointless piece of repeated processing that drains valuable battery life.
Grant doesn’t sound too convinced that Facebook has solved this issue just yet, but claims that the latest version of the app provides “some improvements that should start making this better.”
The second issue Grant identifies is how the app manages audio sessions. Basically, when you play a video on the Facebook app, it sometimes keeps the audio session open as if the app was still playing an audio track silently in the background.
Related: iPhone 6S review
Apparently the app isn’t actually doing anything while its awake in the background, other than draining extra energy unnecessarily. Grant claims that “our fixes will solve this audio issue and remove background audio completely.”
Expect to see noticeable battery life improvements from your iPhone after updating to the latest Facebook app version.
Check out our smartphone buyers guide video:
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
