Fun fact: my Android phone battery was being sucked at a fast pace last month. I don't remember exactly how it presented itself in the UI, but I ended up figuring out that the Google app was the culprit, because it was using the GPS... which I had explicitly disabled.
An internet search showed I was not alone with such problems, and that the solution was to manually revoke some permissions for the app (thankfully it was possible).
I find it amazing that an app can make use of the GPS when it's disabled! I'm actually seriously pissed about it, but there's not much I can do about it.
But you do have the option to purchase phones running operating systems that implement tighter and more credible controls. I believe that companies understand nothing better that consumer dollars.
The fact that I could prevent the app from using the GPS says the OS does have the tight controls already. This is not a problem of permissions model.
Also, the only non Android phones are essentially from Apple, and they are too big for my taste. (also, ridiculously expensive ; also, my wife uses iPhones, they all ended their (short) career with a swollen battery; not sure what she does with them)
Its also a redheaded stepchild that Apple has discontinued without a replacement, not a great place to migrate to if you want a new phone of similar size in 3 or 4 years running iOS.
Of course it’s all hypothetical, but many pundits are betting on a comeback of a SE type of iPhone, as the expensive strategy is not working for Apple.
My battery was being sucked by GPS according to the battery usage reporting. And that stopped being the case when I revoked the Google app permissions.
An internet search showed I was not alone with such problems, and that the solution was to manually revoke some permissions for the app (thankfully it was possible).
I find it amazing that an app can make use of the GPS when it's disabled! I'm actually seriously pissed about it, but there's not much I can do about it.