Skype on ios 4 and battery life

[Taco50]

I downloaded the update yesterday and ran it in the background the full day to test it out. It worked great to receive im's and calls. My battery however seemed like it ran down much faster. How exactly does skype work with multitasking on the iPhone. I thought it kind of sleeps in the background and is woken up by a push message to conserve battery life. Has anyone else noticed this affecting battery life?

 

[ghostface147]

Skype works by staying in the background "listening" for any communications that may arrive. So yes, it's normal to drain some battery while minimally active in the background.

 

[JNHohol]

Hmm...I was noticing my battery seems to be draining faster too. I was trying to figure out what could be doing it, but AH HA!!! Thanks for reminding me. I'm going to force close it and see if that changes things

 

[ghostface147]

That's one thing I wish devs could implement, if possible of course. Implement a way to totally exit out of an app that uses multitasking protocols without having to force quit in the dock.

 

[JNHohol]

Yeah, hopefully Apple will add something it shouldn't be that difficult. Usually the apps should be closed if they aren't being used but Skype is supposed to be always connected, so theoretically it could be draining all the time. This is the first app I've had multitasking battery concerns with

 

[JustinHorn]

Skype basically has its on push notification connection (direct from phone to Skype servers) to listen for incoming IMs and phone calls. So it shouldn't really take a noticeable amount of battery while just idle in the background.

My phone dropped about 30% overnight doing nothing with Skype in the background. I think about 25% more than normal.

Hopefully they figure out the issue and get it worked out, for now I have signed out and don't let it run in the background.