I saw in the latest changelogs that v4 no longer needs the blue location bar - I know the blue location bar was opted in with v3 for battery benefits - is that benefit no longer relevant with v4? or has v4 decided the battery benefit is not worth it compared to the blue bar annoyance
• Background recording without the persistent location indicator. Arc no longer keeps the location indicator lit while recording in the background. (BIG-617)
Good question — and your memory is right: on v3 the indicator-free mode did carry a real battery cost, which is exactly why opting into the bar was the battery-friendly choice.
The v4 answer is that it’s no longer a trade-off. The recording engine was rebuilt from the ground up, and the new arrangement combines the best of both of the old app’s modes: the indicator-free operation, without the battery cost that used to come with it. Same recording quality and battery characteristics as the mode you were running, just without the bar. So the battery benefit isn’t gone, and it wasn’t judged not-worth-it — the choice you had to make on v3 simply doesn’t exist on v4. You get both halves.