Facebook users have uncovered a sneaking suspicion that the app is draining the batteries on their iPhones. According to the new battery menu on iOS 9, which lists an app-by-app usage, Facebook is using more than just a fair share. The company has addressed the problem and has issued a new version of the app.
“We found a few key issues and have identified additional improvements, some of which are in the version of the app that was released today,” Ari Grant, Facebook’s engineering manager wrote.
The first issue the company found was a “CPU spin” in its network code, which is similar to a child in a vehicle asking, “Are we there yet?” repeatedly without reaching any real progress in terms of destination. The repeated processing forces the app to use more battery than intended.
A second issue has to do with the way Facebook handles audio playback. When users watch a video and then leave the app, the audio session occasionally remains running although nothing is actually playing. This uses background processing power and drains the iPhone’s battery.
“If you leave the Facebook app after watching a video, the audio session sometimes stays open as if the app was playing audio silently,” Grant said. “This is similar to when you close a music app and want to keep listening to the music while you do other things, except in this case it was unintentional and nothing kept playing.”
Both of these issues have been corrected and Grant was quick to point out that none of these glitches have to do with location-based features or history.
“We are committed to continuing to improve the battery usage of our app and you should see improvements in the version released today,” Grant said.
To prevent Facebook from draining your battery, download the updated app found in the App Store. Since Facebook typically updates its app on a strict biweekly schedule, you will have to wait a few weeks before the next update completely resolves the issue.
Via The Verge
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