Geofencing Indicator vs. Location Services Indicator - iphone

Question

I have an app that displays a map of the user's location and tracks the user until the app is moved into the background. At that point, the location manager is told to stop updating the location and, instead, to monitor a region (a 100 meter radius around the last known location). On the iOS simulator, it works as expected and shows the Geofencing indicator (same as the regular location services indicator, but only the outline). On the iPhone, it seems to work as expected, but displays the regular location services icon rather than the outline alone.
Is there any reason this might be happening, this discrepancy between the simulator and the phone? I just want to make sure the phone is really only using Geofencing and no other services (i.e. to ensure minimal battery usage).
Additional information:
I have required background mode set to receive location updates – this is in specific cases (when the user enables it) rather than all the time. I've tried disabling this, however, and the problem persists.
The code I'm using for backgrounding the app:
- (void)applicationDidEnterBackground:(UIApplication *)application
{
// Only monitor significant changes – unless specified
if(!self.viewController.userSpecifiedToUseLocationServices)
{
// Stop using full location services
[self.viewController.locationManager stopUpdatingLocation];
// Create a boundary -- a circle around the current location
self.viewController.currentBoundary = [[CLRegion alloc] initCircularRegionWithCenter:self.viewController.locationManager.location.coordinate radius:kSignificantLocationChange identifier:#"Current Location Boundary"];
// Monitor the boundary
[self.viewController.locationManager startMonitoringForRegion:self.viewController.currentBoundary desiredAccuracy:kCLLocationAccuracyBest];
}
}
- (void)applicationDidBecomeActive:(UIApplication *)application
{
// Stop monitoring the region
if(self.viewController.currentBoundary != nil)
{
[self.viewController.locationManager stopMonitoringForRegion:self.viewController.currentBoundary];
self.viewController.currentBoundary = nil;
}
// Start full location services again
[self.viewController.locationManager startUpdatingLocation];
}

Answer 1

Well, first of all, Location Services on the simulators have never been a high-fidelity representation of the real devices. So, I wouldn't necessarily assume you'll see the same thing on both test platforms.
Secondly, according to this answer on stack overflow, it sounds like that's the normal behavior on iOS 5 (showing different indicators).
I'd also caution that geofencing isn't a magic technology. The device still has to use location services, and that will drain the battery. I would certainly recommend using Apple's startMonitoringForRegion: or startMonitoringForRegion:desiredAccuracy: and take advantage of their implementation, rather than coding your own. But, I also wouldn't expect battery drain to be negligible.
Finally, you're specifying the accuracy as kCLLocationAccuracyBest, rather than using startMonitoringForRegion:, or specifying a lower accuracy requirement. I don't see how this would not affect battery performance. Greater accuracy means the OS is going to have to either get a higher quality fix, or poll more regularly, or both.
Sadly, there are no free lunches :(