Resolved: Efficiency of Gmail Fetch vs. Exchange Push

[Caleb531]

Note: I have already searched these forums for the topic, but I have not found a conclusive answer (based on everything else I have read and heard).

I also have a great deal of thinking to explain, so feel free to skip down to my question at the end of this post.

I currently have an iPhone with a Gmail account configured to fetch mail every hour. However, I recently discovered that I could instead configure an Exchange account to enable push notifications for Gmail.

Now, I would prefer to use push, but only if does not impact my iPhone's battery life. I know there are many factors which affect battery life, but in this case, I am more concerned about the efficiency of both push and fetch, particularly regarding the way data is retrieved from the server.

I am aware that push notifications are served through a single, constant connection with Apple's push notification server (for App Store applications, at least). However, I was unsure if data for Gmail/Exchange mail accounts are retrieved .

I have read Apple's page on battery-saving tips, which suggests disabling mail push because fetch is supposedly more efficient. However, because the iPhone maintains a constant connection to Apple's server, I would think that disabling mail push would be ineffective, since the constant connection remains open for the other apps that utilize push.

Question

Does an Exchange push configuration work through the single constant connection to Apple's push server, or am I creating a second constant connection to some Exchange server?

I believe this is a valid question after having explained my rationale above.

[xraydoc]

I have 3 email accounts configured as Exchange push accounts - two Gmail and one work email. Battery life is unaffected.

Exchange email doesn't go thru Apple's servers, by the way.

[Caleb531]

Thanks for the answer. That's what I needed to know.