Android smartphone software tool found to cut battery drain

A new software tool called HUSH, developed by US-based Purdue University, claims to reduce the drain in battery caused by apps even when the phone's display is off. The reduction in battery drain contributes to a marginal increase in overall battery life of the smartphone .HUSH is available at no cost and could be useful for Android owners constantly complaining about having to charge their devices multiple times a day.

HUSH is an official tool available here. As per a study carried out by researchers at Purdue University, Android apps contribute to a whopping 45.9% drain on the battery, 29% of which happens when the smartphone's display is "off". Researchers claim that, out of the 29%, HUSH will be able to reduce nearly 16% of battery drain.

The research team analysed 2,000 units of Samsung's Galaxy S3 and S4 smartphones, to determine battery drain. These tests were carried out in as many as 61 countries involving 191 mobile operators.

"Apps wake the phone up periodically during screen-off to do useful things, but then afterward, they should let the phone go back to sleep. They are not letting the phone go back to sleep because of software bugs and, specifically, due to the incorrect use of Android power control application programming interfaces called wakelocks," stated Charlie Hu, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue, and a member of the research team.

Hu also estimates that with battery drain controlled by as much as 16% , smartphone owners should be able to observe battery-life extending by a fraction in comparison to the current battery life.

What exactly does HUSH do?

Researchers at Purdue University state that HUSH kills background activities, initiated by multiple Android apps, when the phone's screen is off. This is accomplished by HUSH identifying the background apps and processes that these initiate that are determined not be useful for smartphone owners.

Ineffective background processes, started by apps, are identified based on user activities and how (and what) applications are used frequently. Programs not started frequently by users are flagged and all background activities are ceased by HUSH.

"The big picture is that we want to double the battery life for smartphones," states Hu. Research on drastically improving battery life in Android smartphones is ongoing. However owners of Android handsets can try out HUSH and let us know whether considerable improvement in battery-life was observed.

[Source: Purdue University Newsroom]