Free apps may be kinder to users’ wallets, but not to their device batteries. A new study from Purdue University found that up to 75 percent of the energy consumed by free apps was being used to power advertisements. In the case of Angry Birds, only 20 percent of the energy use actually went towards playing the game.
Chris McClelland of mobile development firm Ecliptic Labs explained, “Advertising needs to connect to the server and send information about location.” He added, “That just takes up so much battery. It seeps up the energy.”
The report authors encourage developers to pay more attention to energy efficiency when creating their apps.
