Might it be be that a constant loop of activity is not a good model for battery performance in actual use ? I've heard someone suggest that perhaps background

Might it be be that a constant loop of activity is not a good model for battery performance in actual use ? I've heard someone suggest that perhaps background sync actually might help battery life in some situations since it is done in batches. this would mean that users are spending less time looking at a power hungry screen that's just showing a loading spinner, assuming that some of this saved time is spent not using the phone at all, there might be a gain. edit: To expand, although I am unfamiliar with everything that could be/has been done to maximize battery life: Is it possible that "tweaks" are made in ways that are more relevant to actual usage patterns? (And perhaps ways that sacrifice battery life in the for speed in other areas, in the hopes of maintaining the baseline or improving battery life overall while still improving perceived performance) What might these kind of changes be? I'm not trying to be an apologist, genuinely curious about how what sort of optimizations might be made, and trying to make sense of the difference between what Ars is seeing and the anecdotal evidence.