SkieWill Skie slow down the device or drain the battery?
Skie is designed to run quietly in the background, but any management app uses some resources, and we make no numeric claims about speed or battery. The right test is your own: pilot a few of your actual devices for a week or two and compare them with unmanaged ones in normal use.
Skie runs a protected background service with a watchdog, reports presence on a repeating alarm and syncs when the internet returns or when the screen comes on after rules have gone stale. It is exempt from battery optimisation so that Android does not stop it. That is what keeps rules current, and it does mean some activity.
How much that matters depends on the device. Age, storage, memory, the apps students actually use and the network all play a part. A sensible number for one tablet is meaningless for another, so this guide does not give one. Anyone quoting a precise battery cost without testing your devices should be asked how they measured it.
The filter and rules also affect the experience in other ways. DNS filtering happens on lookups. Rules are cached on the device, so enforcement does not need a connection for each action. Apps that are not allowed are hidden or suspended, so there are fewer apps competing for resources.
A fair test is simple. Take two or three devices of one model in the pilot and keep a few of the same model unmanaged. Use them for the same lessons and the same hours. Compare charge in the end and note any slowness students mention. Repeat on your weakest model.
A practical tip: ask students and teachers, not just the logs. If a device feels slow, check storage and installed apps first. Many problems blamed on management come from a nearly full tablet or an old model, and the compliance and insights views can help you separate the two.