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7" tablet, Azpen A727, running Android 4.2.2

What is the effect of using live wallpapers on Android tablets?
I'm using a 7" tablet, running Jelly Bean 4.2.2 with a 1.5 GHz processor, 4GB flash memory, and I recently set my wallpaper to "Nexus" -- I want to know if this will have a negative effect on the (1) speed (2) battery life of my tablet.

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  • possible duplicate of How much battery does using live wallpapers drain?
    – bmdixon
    Commented Jul 20, 2014 at 19:38
  • @bmdixon Good thought, but my question is about battery life AND speed, his is just about battery life. Thanks though :)
    – Shokhet
    Commented Jul 20, 2014 at 20:06
  • @bmdixon Although.....do you think I should rephrase the question to focus only on speed? ....that would remove all duplicacy, but would invalidate a large part of Dan's answer.
    – Shokhet
    Commented Jul 27, 2014 at 3:40
  • @geffchang I believe I missed the discussion....why was this question being considered for closure? ....because of the possible duplication?
    – Shokhet
    Commented Oct 5, 2014 at 1:53
  • It was suggested as duplicate of bmdixon's suggestion.
    – geffchang
    Commented Oct 5, 2014 at 7:33

1 Answer 1

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It depends on the live wallpaper in question, but in general, the wallpaper only runs when the home screen is visible. Since you're usually running an app or have the screen off, the live wallpaper has no effect most of the time: the extra battery use is limited to when you're looking at the home screen.

This isn't always true, though. Some live wallpapers also run extra things. For example, the live wallpaper might periodically run in the background so that it can change its appearance based on your email inbox, or weather reports from the internet, or the accelerometer. For that reason, some live wallpapers might use quite a lot of battery.

In that respect, live wallpapers are no different from any other app. If they're inefficient or do a lot of work, they'll run your battery down quickly. If they're efficient and simple, you won't notice any extra battery use. Unless reviewers comment on it, you won't know until you try.

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