Does live radio streaming drain the battery faster than playing a pod cast?

When you listen to streaming radio you are pulling down data from the network the entire time, as you need it. This means you're receiving little bits all the time in real time. The weaker the reception, the more power it uses to stay with the signal constantly.

When you listen to a podcast, it's not real time, it's a file. You're just downloading a file and playing it back. So the data downloads as fast as your connection allows, and the faster the connection (e.g. LTE vs 3G), the sooner the podcast file is finished downloading. This is important, because once the podcast file is downloaded there is no more need for the cell signal for playing back the podcast. The radio could completely power down and you can still listen to the podcast because it's now a downloaded file stored on the phone itself. On an LTE connection an entire podcast could download in less than a minute and then the radio can power down. But if it was a radio stream, of course the radio could not quit after just one minute; it would have to maintain a high enough power level to continue receiving the cell signal as long as you are listening.

That's why streaming audio/video uses a lot more battery than an audio/video podcast.

jkoerner wrote:

This all applies to NPR broadcasts, and I am using the NPR app. What is a software restore? Should I take out the NPR app and reinstall it?

Deleting and reinstalling the NPR app might help, but it's hard to tell. One way to help diagnose is to test listening to podcasts or audio from different apps and sources (Apple podcast app, Spotify, Pandora, etc) and see if they ALL drain the battery, or if only the NPR app drains the battery. That will help you figure out the true scope of the problem and possibly the culprit if it can be isolated.

A restore usually means wiping the phone and restoring everything from your last backup (if you made one, otherwise you lose everything). It's a pretty drastic step, it might help but it's generally considered a last resort.

"Should I confine myself to podcasts because pulling in a signal requires more power??"

If you want the battery to last longer then yes.

If both are present it should default to wifi, to avoid racking up data charges unnecessarily.

If the wifi network is strong, in theory the battery shouldn't be taxed so much. If it is, there might be something else going on.

40 minutes of radio listening should not drain the battery. I use Best Clock Radio on the iPhone 5 and can listen for 5 hours without the battery going dead. It might be the app you are useing or your phone might be messed up. it could possibly need a software restore.

Reset is in the System app under General at the bottom. There are many levels and it is not drastic at all unless you choose to erase.

Podcasts once downloaded will use much less power as they are not using the antenna to access a stream, they are played from the internal storage.

Deleting an app and reinstalling it could help but it does not sound like it is your problem.