BatteryXPRT for
Android 2014
User
manual
Contents
Installing the benchmark from the
Google Play Store
Installing the benchmark from the
BatteryXPRT.com installer
Installing the benchmark from APKs
published at BatteryXPRT.com...
Introduction
The purpose of the BatteryXPRT for
Android benchmark is to reliably evaluate the battery life of Android devices. The
benchmark provides an intuitive user interface and easy-to-understand results.
The BatteryXPRT for Android workload
is based on the tests included in MobileXPRT 2013. In addition, the workload also
contains activities which are not part of MobileXPRT, and some of the tests
have been altered to make them better suited to a battery-life test.
BatteryXPRT for Android can run in
one of three modes. It can represent a device in airplane mode, a device
connected to the internet via Wi-Fi, or a device connected to the internet
through a cellular data connection. The Wi-Fi and Cellular modes are
represented together on the benchmark’s home page by the Wi-Fi/Cellular button.
If a user wishes to estimate battery life while connected to the internet, they
simply need to select the Wi-Fi/Cellular button, and BatteryXPRT will use Wi-Fi
or Cellular mode based on the current device settings. There is not an option
to change the device connection settings from within the BatteryXPRT UI.
Note: For readability, we will refer
to the mode where you select Wi-Fi/Cellular mode using a Wi-Fi connection as
“Wi-Fi,” and using a cellular connection as “Cellular.”
· Airplane mode. Airplane mode requires the user to turn on airplane mode in the
device settings menu. During the web browsing and video playback portions of
the benchmark, the benchmark accesses locally stored content included during
the initial installation.
· Wi-Fi mode. Wi-Fi mode requires the device to be connected to the internet
via a Wi-Fi connection. In Wi-Fi mode, the benchmark accesses an
externally-hosted web site to obtain content for the web browsing and video
playback tests. In addition, continuous background activity during the run
simulates the power draw required by common data sync tasks for email clients
and resident applications.
· Cellular mode. Cellular mode requires the device to be connected to the internet
via a cellular data connection. In Cellular mode, the benchmark accesses an
externally-hosted web site to obtain content for the web browsing and video
playback tests. In addition, continuous background activity during the run
simulates the power draw required by common data sync tasks for email clients
and resident applications.
In all three modes, the benchmark will,
by default, run a 45-minute workload 60 times, or until the battery is
exhausted, and estimate the battery life. BatteryXPRT also allows the user to decrease
the number of times it runs the workload, but the benchmark will flag the
results with a qualifier that recommends performing a full rundown.
The detailed results information for
the run includes elapsed time so that testers can compare the estimated battery
life to the actual elapsed time if they desire.
Figure 1 compares workloads across the
two modes. For readability, Figure 1 does not show simulated sync activity.
|
Wi-Fi/Cellular mode sub-test |
Airplane mode sub-test |
List Scroll |
Scroll
a list for 1 minute. |
|
Video Playback |
Stream a 2-minute 720p H.264 video
clip from the internet. |
Play a 2-minute 1,080p H.264 video
clip from local storage. |
Stand by |
Device
goes to standby for 1 minute. |
|
Zoom and Pinch |
Zoom
and pinch an image for 40 seconds. |
|
Apply Photo Effects |
Apply
four different photo effects to twenty 8MP photos and save them to JPEG/WebP format. |
|
Stand by |
Device
goes to standby for 1 minute. |
|
Gallery Scroll |
Swipe
through a photo gallery for 90 seconds. |
|
Stand by |
Device
goes to standby for 1 minute. |
|
Detect Faces |
Organize
a photo album based on whether it has faces or not. |
|
Audio |
Play
an audio clip for 3 minutes. |
|
Browser Scroll |
Browse web pages from a remote
location for 2 minutes. |
Browse local (cached) web pages for
2 minutes. |
Video Playback |
Stream a 2-minute 720p H.264 video
clip from the Internet. |
Play a 2-minute 1,080p H.264 video
clip from local storage. |
Create Photo Collages |
Create
five photo collages from twenty 8MP photos. |
|
Stand by |
Device
goes to standby for 1 minute. |
|
Encrypt Personal Content |
Encrypt
and decrypt photos, video, and an audio clip, which takes 2 to 3 minutes. |
|
Audio |
Play
an audio clip for 3 minutes. |
|
Create Slideshow |
Create
a video slideshow (720p; H.264; 20 seconds) using 20 images with different
transitions and effects. |
|
Stand by |
Device
goes to standby for 1 minute. |
|
Grid Scroll |
Scroll
the list of apps on the device for 90 seconds. |
|
Stand by |
Device
goes to standby for the rest of the 45-minute cycle. |
|
Figure 1: Comparison of the Wi-Fi/Cellular
modes and Airplane mode. |
After completing a test run, the
benchmark displays a results page. The results details include estimated
battery life with a 95 percent confidence interval and the performance score. For details about how the results are calculated, see the BatteryXPRT for Android design
document.
There
are three ways to install the benchmark. BatteryXPRT can be installed from the Google
Play Store or sideloaded by using a combined installer package or the
individual APKs at BatteryXPRT.com.
The installer from BatteryXPRT.com bundles the required content inside the
installer. Below are steps for each method of installation.
1.
Search for BatteryXPRT on the Google
Play Store. You will see results for “BatteryXPRT 2014 for Android” and
“BatteryXPRT Tests.” Select BatteryXPRT 2014 for Android.
2.
Once you have located the app listing,
tap the install button.
3.
When asked if you want to install
this application, select Install.
4.
Once the “App installed” screen
appears, select Open.
5.
On the “BatteryXPRT needs permission”
screen, select OK to grant BatteryXPRT permission to adjust the Screen Timeout
setting.
6.
On the “Modify system settings”
screen, tap the toggle switch to allow BatteryXPRT to modify system settings.
Tap the back button to return to the BatteryXPRT installation process.
Depending on the device, you may need to close the windows and navigate to the
device home screen to find the BatteryXPRT app icon. If so, tap the icon to
restart the installation process. At the app access screen, tap Allow.
7.
BatteryXPRT will initiate a content
download. The download process may take a few minutes.
8.
Once the content is downloaded,
BatteryXPRT will prompt the user to install “BatteryXPRT Tests” from the Play
Store. Select OK, and the BatteryXPRT Tests app page will open in the Google
Play Store.
9.
Tap Install to install BatteryXPRT
Tests. At the app access screen, tap accept.
10.
Once the BatteryXPRT Tests app is
installed, close the Google Play Store app.
11.
Once
the content download finishes, BatteryXPRT 2014 for Android installation is
complete.
2.
Download the full BatteryXPRT
installer from the “Or download it here” link on BatteryXPRT.com.
3.
Copy the installer APK file to Android/data
on the Android device.
4.
On the Android device, tap the APK file
to launch the installer. Note: If the test device does not have a default file
explorer, you may need to install a file explorer application.
5.
A screen will ask if you want to
install the application. Select Install to start installing the BatteryXPRT Installer.
6.
After the installation completes,
click Open to start the installation of required components.
7.
A screen will say that BatteryXPRT
needs permission to change the Screen Timeout system settings. Select OK.
9.
Select Allow to allow BatteryXPRT to
access media storage on your device.
10.
The screen will show a “Downloading content…”
notice during the installation. The download process may take a few minutes.
11.
Once the download process is
complete, the installation process has finished.
1.
Before installation, you may need to
configure the test device to allow installation of apps from local storage. For
devices running Android 7.0 Nougat and older, this setting is found in Settings
| Security. For devices running Android 8.0 Oreo and newer, this setting is
found in Apps & notifications | Special app access | Install unknown apps.
2.
Download the BatteryXPRT and
BatteryXPRTTests APKs from BatteryXPRT.com.
The download links are directly below the Google Play Store icon in the middle
of the page.
3.
Copy both APK files to Android/data
on your device. Note: If the test device does not have a default file explorer,
you may need to install a file explorer application.
4.
Click on the BatteryXPRTTests.APK
file to launch the installer. Note: It’s important to install the BatteryXPRTTests
APK before the BatteryXPRT APK. This prevents the benchmark from attempting to
download the BatteryXPRTTests APK online.
5.
When asked if you want to install
this application, select Install.
6.
Once the “App installed” screen
appears, select Done.
7.
Click on the BatteryXPRT.APK file to
launch the installer.
8.
When asked if you want to install
this application, select Install.
9.
Once the “App installed” screen
appears, select Open.
10.
On the “BatteryXPRT needs permission”
screen, select OK to grant BatteryXPRT permission to adjust the Screen Timeout
setting.
11.
On the “Modify system settings”
screen, tap the toggle switch to allow BatteryXPRT to modify system settings.
Tap the back button to return to the BatteryXPRT installation process.
Depending on the device, you may need to close the windows and navigate to the
device home screen to find the BatteryXPRT app icon. If so, tap the icon to
restart the installation process.
12.
At the app access screen, tap Allow.
13.
BatteryXPRT will initiate a content
download. The download process may take a few minutes.
14.
Once the content download finishes, BatteryXPRT
2014 for Android installation is complete.
The following test device
configuration steps are recommended for reliable results using BatteryXPRT:
· Set the display brightness to 200
nits.
· Connect a set of ear-fitting
headphones (with sensitivity of ~100 dB/1mW) to the audio port and set the
noise level to 75 dB.
· Charge the battery of the device to
100 percent.
· Go to Settings | Display | Daydream, and turn Daydream OFF (Android 4.4 KITKAT
only).
· Make sure any system or app update
messages are addressed or dismissed completely (update notices may interrupt
the benchmark run).
· Turn off any “Always on” display
features.
· Make sure to close all running apps.
To do this, click on the recent apps menu item and remove all apps from the
list.
· Disconnect the device power adapter.
· Set the proper connectivity
configuration:
o Wi-Fi/Cellular mode
§ Turn on Wi-Fi or Cellular connection.
§ If using Wi-Fi:
· Connect to a wireless access point.
· Make sure the Wi-Fi signal strength
is around -45 dBm.
· Make sure the device is a minimum of
5 ft. from the router.
§ Disable Bluetooth and NFC
connectivity.
§ Test the connection by connecting to
a known Web site using an Internet browser.
o Airplane mode
§ Turn on Airplane mode.
§ Disable Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and NFC.
If testing a Lenovo K900 with an Atom Z2580 processor
On this device, BatteryXPRT does not
exit standby mode, and test runs will not complete successfully. To fix this
issue, adjust the following settings to allow the device to exit standby when
necessary:
1.
Go to Settings | Feature Settings.
2.
Select the System wake-up control option.
3.
Choose the BatteryXPRT and BatteryXPRT Tests apps.
Before
starting the test, please make sure the device is prepared according to the
steps listed in the Test Device Configuration section. These steps are necessary
to produce reliable numbers comparable to results from other devices.
After
launching the BatteryXPRT app, perform the following steps:
1.
Select Airplane mode or Wi-Fi/Cellular
mode, according to the test you wish to run.
2.
Disconnect the device from its power
adapter.
3.
Verify that the current battery
capacity is at least 95 percent.
4.
Click the red Start button to begin
the test. After a successful run, the test displays a results screen.
BatteryXPRT for Android provides
the ability to run the test for less than the default 45 iterations. Using this
approach, a user can choose to set the test duration to a time less than the
expected battery life for the device.
To run the test longer than the
default 45 iterations, use the slide bar to set the intended duration of the
run. When set to a less-than-default duration, the benchmark will run the test
until the desired duration.
Based on our testing, we
consider full rundown tests to be the most accurate. For shorter tests, BatteryXPRT
will flag the results with a qualifier that recommends performing a full
rundown.
At
the end of a successful test, results are automatically displayed. The results
show the performance-qualified battery life.
Results
for all successful previous tests are archived on the test device, and can be
accessed by clicking the Results tab on the main screen.
Submitting results
BatteryXPRT
2014 for Android allows you to submit results to Principled Technologies.
Simply click the Submit Result button on the result screen. Fill in a contact
name and e-mail address. The address and comment fields are optional. Then, all
you have to do is click submit.
Important note:
Never compare results from one mode to results from a different mode. Your
device will use different amounts of power depending on whether it is accessing
the Internet, and whether the Wi-Fi is enabled.
BatteryXPRT can be uninstalled from
the device app drawer or Application Manager, depending on the version of
Android on the device. The BatteryXPRT Tests component must be uninstalled
separately from the BatteryXPRT app.
BatteryXPRT is designed to run
on devices with Android 4.2 and above.