Because the application uses GPS while you are driving, you will notice an increased battery consumption. This issue will be exaggerated if you are using an older phone that has a “tired” battery. Therefore, it is recommended that you plug in your device with a car charger while driving.
Additionally, the application also uses a minimal amount of power when not driving to detect the start of a trip. To this end, we ask that you give the application full permissions and always allow the app to run in the background to ensure proper operation.
Based on real-world testing, your phone should be capable of running the app (in isolation) for over a week before the battery would need to be charged. Other factors such as e-mail use, phone use, and other applications will shorten the “recharge” window to typically 1-2 days for a phone that has seen normal use over less than two years.
If you are inclined to check battery consumption on the phone’s battery monitor, it is important to understand that the percentage figure the phone displays can be very misleading unless you understand how it is often calculated. The percentage shown for an app’s consumption is NOT the percentage of the total available battery, as you would assume. Instead, it’s the app’s percentage of the battery power consumed.
For instance, let’s assume you start with 100% battery power. Then your phone consumes 40% of that. Now let’s say the phone indicates that the app used 20%. This means Companion consumed 20% of the 40% power consumed since your last charge. It does NOT mean Companion used 20% of your total available (100%) battery power.