All Opportunities Are Not Equal: Enabling Energy Efficient App Syncs In Diverse Networks

Mobile apps connect with counterpart cloud services and pursue data transfer over wireless networks. The amount of mobile data transferred will only increase as app data needs and usage expand. Energy expenditure during periods of data transfer constitutes a significant portion of a mobile’s battery usage. At the same time, due to the evolving nature of wireless technologies, there is a proliferation of networks (such as public Wifi hotspots, access points, and cellular technologies) that exhibit diverse energy and performance characteristics. As a user moves around (even within the same logical network) the hardware serving data transfer varies, often offering opportunities for data transfer with distinct bandwidth and latency capabilities. Apps and data services in smartphones however are oblivious to this diversity and the energy impact of using one opportunity vs. others.

In this paper, we first present a study ofWifi characteristics in two domains, shopping malls and within an enterprise campus, demonstrating the fine-grained diversity of network opportunities in two commonplace scenarios. Next, we describe a system-level framework and set of interfaces that enable energy efficient app syncs by leveraging the right opportunities. Preliminary results using our approach show up to three times lower energy costs for popular mobile apps using media uploads.