Data transfer patterns differ according to the application’s functionality needs, the network load, and application protocols.
One application might send small amounts of data frequently, while another might stay asleep for a longer time before sending a larger packet. Some applications might require the recipient to confirm data receipt, while others might not.
The amount of energy consumed through data transfer is one of the most application dependent areas of device power consumption. This is because packet size is not constant like in a data request or ACK packet, but is dependent on the payload size. The larger the data packets are, the more time the device needs to send them, and the more energy it consumes.
Total packet length is not equal to data size, because the packet also contains overhead added by various layers.