Sorry for jumping to conclusions---there was a lot of commentary in this thread by people who were not using iOS 5 and speculating. I'll try disabling iCloud and see if it improves. Thank you for the suggestion.
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iOS5 Reminders - A Big Problem?
- Thread starter NightFox
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Sorry for jumping to conclusions---there was a lot of commentary in this thread by people who were not using iOS 5 and speculating. I'll try disabling iCloud and see if it improves. Thank you for the suggestion.
FYI - I use Toodledo which has this exact same feature. As with iOS 5 reminders, the little location symbol ill always be on, however - it does not significantly drain the battery.
The reason it doesn't use that much battery is that there are different 'levels' of location tracking in iOS - there's the battery intensive style that GPS apps use (getting you to within a few ft, and constantly checking), and theres the nicer-on-the-battery kind that just gets notified when you swap between cell towers, or wifi spots. The location icon will show all the time for both, but it doesnt mean the phone is constantly trying to get a GPS signal.
The reason it doesn't use that much battery is that there are different 'levels' of location tracking in iOS - there's the battery intensive style that GPS apps use (getting you to within a few ft, and constantly checking), and theres the nicer-on-the-battery kind that just gets notified when you swap between cell towers, or wifi spots. The location icon will show all the time for both, but it doesnt mean the phone is constantly trying to get a GPS signal.
We don't want your facts and calm, rational reaction here in the thread, revs. This thread is all about hysterical overreaction based on nothing but speculation and misinformation!
I'm the thread starter. With this feature running I reported that my battery drains very, very quickly. In what way is that speculation or misinformation? The fact is that although people know how this works in other apps, no-one knows for sure how location services is actually used in Reminders. So, not taking anything away from Rev's useful post (which I tend to agree with), he's actually speculating himself based on how it works in Toodledo.
It's interesting that other people's reported experience (or as you call it, the "hysterical overreaction") varies. In my house where I tested the feature I get very poor mobile phone reception, and certainly not 3G. I wonder if this forces Location Services to rely on GPS more than it does if it can triangulate or position using a good GPRS/3G signal? This might explain the difference in battery impact that people experiencing this issue are seeing.
FUD everywhere
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1168048/
this post explains how little battery location services can use... apple uses this significant location change API to eliminate the use of the gps chipset
it uses cell towers/wifi to determine if you've moved significantly.. if you do.. it then determines your location (and not at gps level accuracy)
the reminders app obviously uses this api, because they're set off if you get even 2000 ft from the reminder location..
i wish people would ask questions and not act like they understand the inner workings... but i guess it's asking too much for anyone to actually do any research.. apple's not going to put out a feature that drains your battery in 3-4 hours while using it as instructed
also a great note, it only uses a few extra % of battery from a full charge, regardless of how many apps are using the API.. as I run google latitude and reminders and see 0 change in my battery life....
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1168048/
this post explains how little battery location services can use... apple uses this significant location change API to eliminate the use of the gps chipset
it uses cell towers/wifi to determine if you've moved significantly.. if you do.. it then determines your location (and not at gps level accuracy)
the reminders app obviously uses this api, because they're set off if you get even 2000 ft from the reminder location..
i wish people would ask questions and not act like they understand the inner workings... but i guess it's asking too much for anyone to actually do any research.. apple's not going to put out a feature that drains your battery in 3-4 hours while using it as instructed
also a great note, it only uses a few extra % of battery from a full charge, regardless of how many apps are using the API.. as I run google latitude and reminders and see 0 change in my battery life....
Thanks, that's a very interesting and useful post and thread (not sure why you felt the need to dismiss any further discussion in your second post though).
You did say "apple's not going to put out a feature that drains your battery in 3-4 hours while using it as instructed", but I'd suggest that this is a beta release so I don't think normally valid comments like that apply.
However, let me ask you this: I live in a very rural area which appears to be served by one single 2G transmitter. Coverage by the transmitter extends to a radius of perhaps 2-3 miles; once you go beyond that in most directions there's no signal at all, whichever network you're on. So if A/GPS works as you suggest, how can the 'A' part work if it's only got one tower to track against? I would agree with one of the other posters in your original thread that it can't use signal strength, as too many things affect this, not just distance from the transmitter. And you can forget about Skyhook-type geolocating around here!
So while I agree with you that A/GPS usually reduces the battery drain compared to pure GPS, do you think it possible that when there's nothing to assist it, the basic GPS will run all the time leading to the dramatic battery drain that I experienced?
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I suppose I wasn't referring to your posts then.
Others seem to have posted without any knowledge of the APIs used or even iPhone development in general. Their posts seem to me to have assumed (1) they knew how it worked and (2) that the "Beta" tag is relatively meaningless.
A-GPS is not the same as cell-tower triangulation. This is from the wikipedia article.
Assistance falls into two categories:
*Information used to more quickly acquire satellites
*It can supply orbital data or almanac for the GPS satellites to the GPS receiver, enabling the GPS receiver to lock to the satellites more rapidly in some cases.
*The network can provide precise time.
*The device captures a snapshot of the GPS signal, with approximate time, for the server to later process into a position.
*Accurate, surveyed coordinates for the cell site towers allow better knowledge of local ionospheric conditions and other conditions affecting the GPS signal than the GPS receiver alone, enabling more precise calculation of position. (See also Wide Area Augmentation System and CellHunter and openBmap.)
Calculation of position by the server using information from the GPS receiver
*The assistance server has a good satellite signal, and plentiful computation power, so it can compare fragmentary signals relayed to it
Not sure if it's just you or if the bug has been changed (although we're still on Beta 1), but I did a little experiment when I noticed mine on, and turned off the "at a location" for the reminder that was set to remind me when I left my current location, and the LS icon in the title bar disappeared, so maybe iOS calculates whether it is needed or not. Like LEAVING an area or arriving at somewhere within the same cell tower as your current location.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
I am using Calender as part of Exchange account, can you tell me what do I need to do to use remainders with Geo locations ???
I thought I would try this out today as I was curious as well. Using my iPhone 4 I set up a reminder to go to the store after I leave work today at 5PM. I set the reminder at 9AM and currently about 6 hours have passed.
The battery started at 99% when I set the alert and right now it is at 93% with less than average use throughout the day (checked one email and sent a couple of texts).
To be quite honest I think a loss of 6% is negligible considering how cool the reminders app is. I'll be especially excited to use this with Siri, as I find it time consuming right now to create reminders.
To the OP, I would point out that it would be silly to remind yourself of something on a future date without both selecting "remind me on a date" AND "remind me at a location" (I can't remember if this was an option in earlier betas)
The reminders App is smart enough not to start the GPS until the date of the reminder. If you want to get milk from the store by 5PM on Friday, you will set it up as such. Location services will not go on until Friday and you will be reminded either when you arrive at the store, or by 5PM at the latest.
The battery started at 99% when I set the alert and right now it is at 93% with less than average use throughout the day (checked one email and sent a couple of texts).
To be quite honest I think a loss of 6% is negligible considering how cool the reminders app is. I'll be especially excited to use this with Siri, as I find it time consuming right now to create reminders.
To the OP, I would point out that it would be silly to remind yourself of something on a future date without both selecting "remind me on a date" AND "remind me at a location" (I can't remember if this was an option in earlier betas)
The reminders App is smart enough not to start the GPS until the date of the reminder. If you want to get milk from the store by 5PM on Friday, you will set it up as such. Location services will not go on until Friday and you will be reminded either when you arrive at the store, or by 5PM at the latest.
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Why would it be silly? Only because you can't imagine you need it, but others may.
For example, in my case:
- I work in 2 locations (2 countries), and I do not plan all my trips, they happen sometimes on short notice
- I live in 2 or 3 locations, and again, I have an ever changing schedule
=> location-based reminders, without dates, are actually a top feature for me.
"The next time I am in my office in Berlin, pick-up those papers"
"The next time I am at my apartment in London, bring back this old photo album"
etc...
Or much more practical for all of us:
"Next time I am in my usual supermarket, don't forget to finally buy xxx".
(I just don't know yet when it is going to be!)
Okay, so it's a good few months on now from the OP, are there any stats/figures relating to this and how it drains the battery? I was worried to see the location icon in the top right constantly, but if it doesn't actually drain the battery then it's no big deal.
Also does anyone have a genuinely good alternative to the Reminders app? Something that's equally as simple and intuitive, but maybe just a few more features? ie being able to star items, or mark them as high priority.
Also does anyone have a genuinely good alternative to the Reminders app? Something that's equally as simple and intuitive, but maybe just a few more features? ie being able to star items, or mark them as high priority.
The way I work through this is to use an app like Grocery IQ. I enter all of the stores the wife and I usually shop at and from there you create or scan bar codes of various items you buy regularly. As they are added to the list you can select the store.
The key is EVERY time we go to a store we check Grocery IQ. If you make that habit, you'll never forget anything. I always have my phone with me, it serves as my list and of course I use Key Ring too
hey. i think i also have the same problem as yours. but i solve it. if you have foursquare apps, it have a new feature that something like "radar" that require your iphone to locate your phone every time. if you forgot to tap to off it, the gps keep on locating your phone and it may decrease your phone battery. try to disable the radar stuff. if your statusbar didnt show the blue gps indicator then it show that you already solve your problem. btw, it is not about the reminder. mine is okay so far.