Smartphones & Tablets | June 15, 2023
Even though battery capacity hasn’t increased significantly in recent years, at least Android is becoming a more efficient system. It’s this, along with hardware advancements in elements like screens and processors, that has allowed for adequate battery life, though not exceptional. Fortunately, there are already improvements, especially in battery health.
That may soon change. Everything indicates that the upcoming Android 14 update will focus on improving battery life and health with several new features implemented at the operating system level. One of these features has already been revealed: Android 14 and apps will be able to access new battery data, including usage and long-term health. This should help prolong battery life and reduce the need for frequent replacements.
But that’s just the beginning. With the release of Android 14 Beta 3, a new functionality has been discovered that will make the phone last longer on a single charge. And the best part is that it’s a change that makes a lot of sense and perhaps should have been done earlier.
As discovered by Android Police, the trick is quite simple and involves dimming the wallpaper when battery saver mode is enabled. At that moment, the interface brightness remains the same, with icons and buttons just as visible as before, but the background image will appear dimmer with less usual brightness. Obviously, the effect is more noticeable if the wallpaper image has many colors and bright parts, but it’s also noticeable when using nature photographs, for example.
Lowering brightness is one of the most obvious measures if we want to save battery. The brighter the screen, the more energy it requires. This is especially true for OLED screens, where dark and black pixels don’t require as much power to stay “on.” That’s why using a black wallpaper can typically help increase battery life. However, it’s useless on a conventional LCD screen where all pixels are illuminated. If we lower the brightness, it becomes more challenging to use the phone and find the part we want, especially when we’re outdoors.
That’s why this solution makes so much sense. Android 14 will be able to lower the brightness of unnecessary parts for regular phone usage while maintaining brightness for important and frequently used elements like app icons or interface buttons. If enough power is saved, it might be possible to achieve two days of phone usage, although we’ll have to wait for the system’s release in late summer to confirm it.
