[arjun27]

Google Maps and other map APIs are great for visuals, routes and ETAs. Where they lack is generating a battery efficient accurate location stream and mapping that to your app's workflow. Plus, map APIs are priced on the basis of number of API calls or views, both of which can lead to unpredictable cost for such a feature. For a more detailed analysis, check out our blog post: https://blog.hypertrack.com/2017/04/23/building-live-locatio...

[sandGorgon]

This is pretty cool - https://blog.hypertrack.com/2017/04/18/pitfalls-using-locati...

Is there something in the protocol that makes it more efficient?

[arjun27]

I'm guessing you're referring to MQTT. With smaller packet sizes it's more battery efficient than HTTP if you're making continuous network requests. Great comparison post here: http://stephendnicholas.com/posts/power-profiling-mqtt-vs-ht...