‘Everybody hates overheating phones’, and other insights from Baidu’s latest report

Baidu’s been sharing a lot of interesting data of late, courtesy of their Android app store MoboMarket. Last year, they published a report on how Indonesians consume apps. This time, they’ve published a global study on battery use and speed issues that Android users face, using data from their apps DU Battery Saver and DU Speed Booster.

Turns out, different parts of the world react differently to their smartphone problems. North and South Americans used more of their smartphones battery than did those from MENA (Middle East and North Africa), with North American battery use peaking between 9pm and 3am. Americans, on average, are also more indifferent to dying batteries.

In Asia and MENA? People feel “bored” or “disappointed” when their phones run out of juice. Asians tend to upgrade their phones most frequently, while North Americans take the most time to upgrade (probably because most are locked into longstanding contracts).

In order to balance the consumer data with some expert opinions, the study conducted 3,065 questionnaires via Survey Monkey, collected user data habits from Baidu’s apps from across 200 countries, and interviewed Baidu app developers. It’s also worth noting that the report does not include Europe, Africa, or Australia. Here are the highlights of the report:

1. On average, there are 8 apps running automatically on every Android phone, without the user’s knowledge

Couple this with apps that are knowingly launched, and you have up to 16 apps running on any Android device at any time. This puts a huge strain on the battery, explaining why smartphones need to be charged at least once a day, if not more.

2. Phones overheating is the most common problem globally

44 percent of respondents said overheating was the most common phone problem they faced, a perennial issue when phones with powerful hardware are pushed to their performance extreme.

Asian respondents complained the most about overheating, while MENA and North American users found having too much bloatware to be the main complaint. South Americans had a big issue with the lack of storage on their phones, which doesn’t even feature among the Asian respondents’ top three complaints.

3. North Americans clear a LOT of RAM

While South Americans use more than the global average of RAM (at 79 percent), North Americans take the overwhelming lead when it comes to average RAM cleared. The act boosts the performance of your phone.

4. Apps generate a LOT of trash

On average, apps generate roughly 900 MB worth of trash daily. With up to 10 million people clearing trash files from their phones, that’s 9 million GB of storage space being recovered every day. It’s clear how much storage space is being cannibalized by trash files daily. Even as an individual phone user, 900MB of storage space can be freed up on an Android device if you clean up daily.

5. Asian smartphone users love power banks

Surprisingly, 47 percent of North Americans have said they will “do nothing” when their phones are almost dead. Compare that to only 19 percent of respondents in MENA, who are most likely to “turn on low power mode” instead. Asian respondents’ love for the power bank is much more than any other region. It’s their number one solution to dying batteries. This explains why phone manufacturers like Xiaomi have introduced power banks as a companion to their Android smartphones.

TL;DR

1. Up to 16 apps are running on any Android device at any given time. Half of those are hidden from the user. 
2. Overheating phones are a global problem, and clearly something OEMs are struggling to solve. 
3. RAM is a rare commodity in smartphones (with the high number of apps running in the background, it’s not surprising. Probably why phones overheat so often too). 
4. Apps generate almost 1GB of trash files daily. 
5. Asians love power banks more so than any other region in the world.

You can download their entire report, and their nifty infographic too.

Baidu is the leading Chinese language Internet search provider. As a technology-based media company, Baidu aims to provide the best and most equitable way for people to find what they’re looking for.