Google Now and battery life

[aldo82]

For those of you that get great battery life (say >3.5 hours screen on time) do you use Google now? If you do, do you use it all or switch some of the features off?

I've never managed really good battery life and if I use my phone heavily it can leave me short on a day of travel or long day at work. It's really frustrating! When I read about these mega standby and screen on times I wonder what people do differently to me as I've tried factory resets and run with basically no 3rd party apps and i can still struggle. I always turn Google now on though and guess all the tracking it does to know how far from home you are etc is gonna take its toll. But by how much?

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Thomas Clearo]

I find it does drain the battery. I just keep a charger handy.

 

[B. Diddy]

I keep Google Now on, and am usually on track for 4 hours of screen on time. I keep Location Reporting off--it might help for you. Go to Google Settings/Location to find that option.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[DETERMINOLOGY]

For those of you that get great battery life (say >3.5 hours screen on time) do you use Google now? If you do, do you use it all or switch some of the features off?

I've never managed really good battery life and if I use my phone heavily it can leave me short on a day of travel or long day at work. It's really frustrating! When I read about these mega standby and screen on times I wonder what people do differently to me as I've tried factory resets and run with basically no 3rd party apps and i can still struggle. I always turn Google now on though and guess all the tracking it does to know how far from home you are etc is gonna take its toll. But by how much?

Posted via Android Central App

I havent seen anything "mega" about the battery life. Most cases i get around 3-4 hours of screen time and thats just not doing for me and as much as i like the nexus 5 2300 mAh isnt cutting it and getting a exchange for something different. Also im seeing the battery drains like crazy when the screen is on 1% every 3-6 mins or so thats a no go in my book and my s4 that i had held alot better then that.

 

[B. Diddy]

. Also im seeing the battery drains like crazy when the screen is on 1% every 3-6 mins or so

I'm not saying the N5 battery is the greatest in the world, but what you're describing means that you'd be on track for 300-600 minutes of total screen-on time, which means 5-10 hours. 10 hours is almost impossible, but 5 hours is pretty standard for phones that don't have huge batteries. Heck, my old Razr Maxx with its monster battery mostly gave me 5-6 hours of total screen-on time.

 

[aldo82]

I keep Google Now on, and am usually on track for 4 hours of screen on time. I keep Location Reporting off--it might help for you. Go to Google Settings/Location to find that option.

Posted via Android Central App

Does everything work OK with location reporting off? I've thought about turning it off but the description makes it sound like apps need it to get their location so turning it off would mess things up? If that reporting is just on the device between apps then it shouldn't affect battery life too much?

Posted via Android Central App

 

[B. Diddy]

I've never been able to find a really clear explanation on what Location Reporting is needed for. On Google's support page, this is what they say: "Location Reporting allows Google to periodically store and use your device's most recent location data, as well as activities like driving, walking, and biking, in connection with your Google Account. Location Reporting is a per-device setting." Clear as mud. What I know is that with Location Reporting off, apps like Google Maps and Google Now still know where I am, and give me appropriate location-based information. I believe Location Reporting is needed to share your location with friends using Google+ (which I don't do), and it also has to be on for Google Offers (so I only turn it on when I want to access that app).

Apps that use your location do not need Location Reporting on--what needs to be on is the overall Location function (under Google Settings>Location, the On-Off switch at the top of the screen).

 

[Nabooy]

Is this better to turn it off completely for better battery usage or something?

 

[B. Diddy]

My experience on my old Razr Maxx was that Location Reporting increased system wakelocks significantly--that is, the phone would partially wake up many more times each day to try to access the web and report location. One unscientific test I ran resulted in a significant increase in battery usage. If I had Location Reporting on, the phone went from 100% to about 70% with fairly minimal use over about 14 hours. With it off, it went from 100% to about 80%.

 

[Shilohcane]

Google Now isn't eating your battery. Playing games and surfing the internet is what burns your battery. I get more than 36 hours out of the phone using mainly text and voice calls. I always connect to a Wi-Fi when I want to do any heavy surfing but I try to get on and get off fast and Google Now speeds that up since it is a great search tool.

Get one of these LuguLake 6000mAh Qi - Wireless Portable Power Bank if you have any desk or charge in your car to get a boost charge during the day.