Widgets Using Up Resources

[georg719]

I've read that widgets use up battery power & cpu(?) more than ordinary icons do. Can anyone tell me if widgets use these resources only when the widgets are visible on the screen that is in use, or are they using up resources even when the widgets are on a screen that is not being used? Eg is my weather widget using up resources if it's not on the screen I am looking at? (HTC Desire HD)

 

[Chrisy]

Good question!

 

[Cyber Warrior]

Anything that is running on your phone will drain battery. With that being said, widgets will drain your battery as some do multiple updates using more resources which require more battery juice. So if your phone is off and a widget is set to update every hour or so then yes it will run while the screen is off. You can adjust the update intervals in the settings of the widgets app.

 

[georg719]

So if I switch off auto sync and the widget is not on any screen that I am using then it shouldn't use up battery or cpu?

 

[RUSH]

Why would you want to do that... leave auto sync on(how would some applications be updated). If there are application(s), or widgets that you think you don't need - you can delete them. Keep in mind that not all can be deleted.

I have a lot of widgets, and apps on my device. The battery drained seem the same even when I remove them all. Lets face it - these batteries isn't suffice.

Ps. The ******** things we have to do for better battery life is just not right.

 

[Cyber Warrior]

Yea the Widgets aren't going to be that much of a drain but you can set the updates to something reasonable.... like the weather from every hour changed to every 3-4 hours.

 

[georg719]

Hi Rushrl & Cyber Warror. Re the autosync I prefer to manual sync, as I don't have anything that I need to check more than once a day, & I can leave autosync & my mobile network switched off; the inconvenience is only slight & doesn't bother me at all. The weather widget, even when updated, is always out by at least few degrees compared to the local weather stations, so not autosyncing that is no great loss! I agree with your comment "the ********* things we have to do for better battery life", & so do 1,293,309,204 others. In fact, I knew the Desire HD had poor battery life before I bought it, so I bought a spare battery at the same time, but the battery-cover is VERY flimsy &, as one magazine review pointed out, "probably won't last long", then their next comment was... "but fortunately it's something you would only have to use once." Can't win, can we!
Thanks for your help. I hope Chrisy got something out of this, too!

 

[Chrisy]

I did. Thanks.