An update to Google Search featuring Google Now was recently released for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Originally for Android, Google Now is a tool that provides information on sporting events, weather, and travel. However, many reviews on iTunes have complained about the absurd amount of battery life Google Now saps up.
To get up to date information Google Now turns on your iOS device’s Location Services, gathering data from nearby cell towers and Wi-Fi hotspots. Google’s intention was to prevent battery issues by not completely relying on GPS, but this hasn’t worked for everyone. Thankfully, there is a way to disable Location Services while still using most of Google Now’s features.
While you may lose out on live traffic reports and nearby restaurants, we’ll show you how to save your device’s battery.
Location Services are always on
Google Now uses the Location Services feature on your iOS device. You will see a corresponding icon on your status bar, next to your battery life percentage. Google Now uses Location Services to update traffic and nearby restaurants. A second feature, Location Reporting is also sometimes used for greater precision. While it’s not meant to always use GPS, there are still battery issues on many iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches. Google Now is meant to automatically pause location updates when batteries are low and sleep unless you’ve moved long distances. If you don’t care about live updates there is a way to turn off Location Reporting.
Disable Location Reporting
Turning off Location Reporting has a likely chance to help improve battery life. From the main page (as well as others where the icon appears) tap the Settings gear. On this page select the Privacy tab. Now scroll down to the Location section. Toggle off Location Reporting and hit Done. The Location Services icon will disappear, confirming that feature is off.
Disabling Location Reporting is the fastest means of saving your device’s battery life. Those that previously tried Google Now on Android will already know that the app can increase battery drain. The problem could be a bug or Google’s unfamiliarity with iOS location features. Google’s Field Trip app also had similar issues. Despite Google’s best efforts to maintain battery life of iOS, this is currently an annoying issue for many. Hopefully a fix will be patched in later.
