Tip: Valve’s Steam Android app is a battery drainer, so close it when you’re done!
It’s that time of year again: Steam’s Winter Sale is upon us. The sale started yesterday and will continue until January 3. If you’re a PC gamer, you likely know that these next two weeks are ones of endurance, willpower, and incredibly light wallets.
To make following the sale and giving them your money easier, Valve created an Android app that give you access to nearly every feature of Steam, save for actually playing your PC games. It’s a great way to stay up to date with the sales, but it’s very unoptimized: the app will open a new instance of itself for each tab you tap and open, using up all your system resources and ultimately draining your battery.
Even on my Samsung Galaxy Note 3, with its nearly two day-long battery life, Steam managed to drain my battery nearly 80% in a matter of hours – and I didn’t even touch my phone during that time.
Normally, finding a battery-thirsty app wouldn’t be a problem – but considering how quickly my battery was being drained from the Steam app, I thought it would be helpful to let you know Steam is very likely the culprit if you use the app. It’s incredibly helpful during sale time, when Flash Sales and Community’s Choice picks come and go frequently, but make sure that you close the app once you’re done looking around.
Happy shopping!
