Do Podcast Apps Drain Phone’s Battery? (We Checked)

Podcast episodes run long, meaning that your phone will be broadcasting to you for twenty minutes to an hour per episode. Because of this, your battery could drain after several hours of listening.

Do podcast apps drain a lot of energy on average?

Here’s How Much Battery Drains when Listening to Podcasts:

Any app will drain your phone battery even a little bit when used continuously. However, most music and podcast apps such as Spotify, Google Podcast, and Apple Podcast do not use much energy. Compared to larger apps like Google Chrome or Facebook, they use far less battery.

How Much Battery Do Podcast Apps Use?

The average podcasting app, such as Spotify, will use a fraction of the amount of battery that Google Chrome, Facebook, or Facebook Messenger uses.

According to comparison sites like Uswitch, Spotify is at the low end of the Android battery-usage spectrum, using only “26” demanding power on your battery. Comparably, Facebook uses “50” demanding power.

However, if you have your podcast app running all day long, it will obviously use up the majority if your battery demands. This happens on long drives or when users listen to music or podcasts when doing chores or work.

Try to take breaks or keep your phone plugged in if you are going to listen to a podcast all day.

Note that using a VPN on your phone may also drain the battery faster.

Apple iPhone Battery Drain:

Apple users, in contrast, claim that an iOS update in 2021 changed the way that Spotify and other leading music apps drained their batteries, hogging up a lot of the energy demands on their phones. Some even claimed to lose 30% of their battery in only an hour while using Spotify.

The reason for this seems to be unknown, perhaps just an issue with the update, but it is possible to fix it.

One of the biggest reasons that apps use too much energy is if they are running in the background at all times. By preventing your app from running in the background of your phone or using data at all times, you can stop if from hogging your battery power.

To stop this on your iPhone, follow these steps:

1. Disable “Background App Refresh” in your “Settings”
   • Choose “Settings”
   • Choose “General”
   • Disable “Background App Refresh” specifically under the app you are using, such as Spotify.
2. Uninstall the App and Reinstall:
3. • Hold the Spotify app icon down and choose to uninstall it.
   • Once uninstalled, reinstall it in the app store.

What is the Best Podcast App for Phone Battery?

There are so many podcasting apps out there. Some are more battery-draining than others.

Here is a list of apps that are not only great for podcasting, but also for your battery life:

1. Spotify
2. Apple Podcasts
3. Google Podcasts
4. PocketCasts
5. Castro

Most users will listen to their podcasts on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, but you can find great listening and seamless app design at any of these.

How Long Do Smartphones Last When Listening to Podcasts?

If your phone is brand new, you can listen to music or podcasts in your car at very little battery drainage to you.

For an hour or more of listening on a new phone, you might only lose less than 10% of battery drain – especially if you don’t have other apps working in the background.

That is a very small amount of battery drainage.

However, old phones, used phones, or phones operating on outdated software may suffer from faster battery drain. No matter how technologically advanced your phone might be when you first get it, after using it for more than a few years, it will start to lose battery much quicker.

Do Streaming or Downloading Podcasts Use More Battery?

Downloading or streaming podcast episodes usually requires a WiFi connection and some battery usage.

If you allow your app to run in the background and to download files, it will use up some battery while doing so. How much battery it uses depends on the length of the episode, file size, and how many you are downloading all at once.

For example, if you have a brand new phone and are downloading at least fifty podcast episodes about 30 minutes in length each, you will still use a lot of energy to do so.

An older phone that is downloading five episodes at 30 minutes each will probably not use that much battery.

However, it is hard to say how much exactly percentage-wise you would lose, as each phone and situation will be different.

Can I Stop Podcast Apps from Draining my Battery?

Apart from letting your app run in the background at all times, there are a few things you can do to stop your battery from draining.

Mostly, make sure that your apps only work on WiFi instead of on data. That ensures they won’t be draining the battery while you’re out at the grocery store, instead only draining the battery when you are home on your network.

Make sure to close your app when you are done using it as well.

General Battery Savers:

Here are a few ways to stop battery drainage in general:

1. Reduce your phone’s screen brightness. It is advisable to enable your phone brightness to set automatically.  
2. Turn on the airplane mode and ensure you adjust the location services on your phone. 
3. Download a battery-saving app on your device.  
4. Ensure you reduce push notifications for apps on your phone.
5. Ensure your keyboard sounds and vibrations are turned off.

Can I Save Battery by Listening to Podcasts I’ve Downloaded?

Listening to files already downloaded to your phone is a great way to save energy and time.

Not only do you not have to wait for it to buffer or make sure that you have a WiFi signal, but you will use less streaming energy to play it from your device.

We highly recommend that you download songs and podcasts before a flight or when you know that you will be somewhere without a signal.

Not only will it keep you from being bored, but you won’t have to worry about getting an internet connection or data usage to watch movies or listen to music.

Sources:

Drain Nation – Which apps drain our batteries the most?

Spotify Draining Battery on Your Phone? Try These Quick Fixes

Best Podcast App (especially considering battery life)?