Have you ever logged on Facebook with an iPhone or other Apple smart device? Ever watch the battery life signal go from full to empty in literally a few minutes? There’s a reason for it, and something is being done about it.
According to Facebook’s lead engineer Ari Grant, there are bugs that eat up CPU cycles, leading to the eating up of battery energy. Grant said the issues aren’t caused by Facebook‘s Location History feature, as some suspected. But there is a second issue. Facebook unintentionally ran a silent audio stream in the background. He vowed to correct this audio issue and cut out background audio altogether. The audio keeps the app awake. But it also drains battery power. They’re not the first ones to use background audio to keep their app awake. But Apple absolutely hates this practice, and I can see why. Grant ended his statement with an apology and promised to quickly fix the problem. Mobile Facebook iPhone users should see results soon and very soon.
I’m glad Facebook is addressing this. Battery problems can be more than a nuisance. It can cost more than time. Battery problems can get down right dangerous. When one sees battery power go so fast in such a short time, don’t take it too casually. It can lead to overheating, which can destroy a device beyond repair. Overheating can even lead to physical injuries. Imagine a device sitting there. The battery life is going crazy, but you ignore it. You pick up the device. You burn your hand so severely you must be treated by a doctor for first and second degree burns. This can happen, folks. So I give props to Ari Grand for telling the truth about this battery situation. I give him props for trying to do something about it. I’ll give him more props when it’s fixed. What else can poor smartphone battery life lead to?