Measuring the Energy of Smartphone Communications in the Edge-Cloud Continuum: Approaches, Challenges, and a Case Study

As computational resources are placed at different points in the edge-cloud continuum, not only the responsiveness on the client side is affected, but also the energy spent during communications. We summarize the main approaches used to estimate the energy consumption of smartphones and the main difficulties that are typically encountered. A case study then shows how such approaches can be put into practice. Results show that the edge is favorable in terms of energy consumption, compared to more remote locations.