Question about location services

[BulkHedd]

I just upgraded to the new version of the app Dark Sky (weather app). They added push notifications to alert you if it will be raining soon in your area.
Anyway, when I turn on the push notifications I get the purple/white location arrow constantly at the top right of my screen.
I'm concerned about battery life so I contacted the developer of the app.
They responded saying there is a misconception about the solid location services arrow and it doesn't always mean the GPS is active.
They said they only use cell tower triangulation, which uses much less battery than GPS. Is this true? I've always assumed that if I have a solid arrow that meant something was actively tracking my location and it will have a negative impact on the battery life.

 

[mattopotamus]

I just upgraded to the new version of the app Dark Sky (weather app). They added push notifications to alert you if it will be raining soon in your area.
Anyway, when I turn on the push notifications I get the purple/white location arrow constantly at the top right of my screen.
I'm concerned about battery life so I contacted the developer of the app.
They responded saying there is a misconception about the solid location services arrow and it doesn't always mean the GPS is active.
They said they only use cell tower triangulation, which uses much less battery than GPS. Is this true? I've always assumed that if I have a solid arrow that meant something was actively tracking my location and it will have a negative impact on the battery life.

Not 100% sure b.c I had a question similar recently, but was told if the GPS arrow thing is showing up, that the app is constantly pulling data.

 

[Small White Car]

They responded saying there is a misconception about the solid location services arrow and it doesn't always mean the GPS is active.
They said they only use cell tower triangulation, which uses much less battery than GPS. Is this true?

This is 'true' in that it's certainly possible. (I can't promise you that the developer wasn't lying about his app and how it works...but I can tell you that they have the ability to make this work the way he described.)

Even so, will it use some battery? Probably a little, but the real question is, does it matter? Did you used to go to bed with 11% life and now it's 9%? If so, who cares? Or does it change things drastically for you?

I always have to charge once per day before I leave work. If I turn off all the stuff like this...turn off wifi...reduce screen brightens...restrict location services... Well then I have to charge at 7 PM instead of 3 PM.

It that good? Does it matter? Not really. I'm still charging once a day. So I leave the stuff on and enjoy it since "pushing my charge a few hours" isn't enough of an improvement for me to care about. Maybe you'll be different. Maybe this is the difference between charing overnight and the phone dying 1 hour before bedtime. If so, you have something to gain. I didn't, but that's just me.

So it all comes down to you and your typical day. Everyone will be different. Examine your life and decide if this kind of thing actually changes anything for you.