Many iPhone and iPad users complained about the Facebook iOS app and battery drain issues related to it. The usual steps such as turning off Push notifications and Background App Refresh didn’t make any difference.
“We recently heard reports of some people experiencing battery issues with the Facebook iOS app and have been looking into the causes of these problems. 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,” said Ari Grant, Facebook engineer.
The first problem the company found was a CPU spin. Grant described this problem – it is like the kid in the car that keeps asking the same question: Are we there yet? However, the fact the child keeps asking that question over and over again won’t lead to any progress to reach the wanted destination. “This repeated processing causes our app to use more battery than intended,” he said.
The second problem is with audio sessions and how we manage it. If you leave the application after watching a video, what happens sometimes is that the audio session stays open. “The app isn’t actually doing anything while awake in the background, but it does use more battery simply by being awake,” Grant added.
The latest version of the app brings the improvements, so make sure to get it!
You may also read: Facebook will notify you if your account is being targeted by a hacker working on behalf of the state government