The world’s most popular social network is also the app that is still eating away most at your Android handset’s performance.
According to Avast Software’s latest study into app use and performance drain, Facebook still tops the charts. What’s more, thanks to the impact of Instagram (6th place), Pages Manager (9th) and Facebook Messenger (10th), the company actually has four apps in the top 10.
“These app performance charts are a great example of helping users understand how they can manage their app usage thoughtfully in order to get the most out of their devices, without limiting enjoyment of their favourite apps,” said Gagan Singh, SVP and GM Mobile Business, Avast.
Avast puts together its quarterly charts by using anonymous data from three million Android handsets globally and by focusing only on the apps that are installed directly from Google Play and that are installed on at least 50,000 handsets in the sample. “Our research helps us identify all of the challenges our customers are facing in using their mobile devices and allows us to provide useful insights and advice [to consumers and developers],” said Singh.
The top 10 list was compiled based on the apps that launch when a phone starts up and that have the biggest overall impact – i.e., data and storage use as well as battery drain.
And while Facebook is still top, in at second place is a new entry, musical.ly, the lip syncing app. It can drain a Samsung Galaxy S6 battery completely in just two hours but, more worryingly, watching 25 clips a day via a 3G or 4G connection could add up to 3GB of data over a month.
Avast points out that this could be a shock to parents as the app is aimed at teens who usually don’t pay the monthly network bills.
Other new entries include WhatsCall – a Skype competitor that is always on is in fourth place – and the app for popular British newspaper the Daily Mail debuts in fifth.
Still, there’s also good news. A host of previously resource-heavy apps have dropped out of the charts altogether thanks to some serious improvements. They include WhatsApp, SoundCloud, WeChat, ChatOn and the BBC iPlayer.
Source: AFP Relaxnews
