This is a great reason to update the Facebook app today
Facebook admits that its app has been sapping your phone's battery life.
The company addressed the common complaint from iPhone users in a blog post Thursday and released an update to the iOS app to correct it. (The Android version, by the way, also does a number on performance.)
Ari Grant, an engineering manager at Facebook, said on his page:
"We recently heard reports of some people experiencing battery issues with the Facebook iOS app and have been looking into the causes of these problems. We found a few key issues and have identified additional improvements, some of which are in the version of the app that was released today."
Grant explained that the first issue was something called a "CPU spin" in the network code. "A CPU spin is like a child in a car asking, 'Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?' with the question not resulting in any progress to reaching the destination," he wrote.
This repetitive processing caused the app to "use more battery than intended," and the new version includes "some improvements that should start making this better."
It also addresses an issue that allowed audio sessions to continue running on your phone, even when you have finished watching a video and moved on to something else. Grant said this has been fixed completely.
Update the Facebook iOS app today and your phone may have an easier time making it through the weekend without dying.