In Android 14 Beta 3, Google makes move to extend battery life
Android 14 Beta 3 includes a nifty little feature that just might extend the battery life of an Android phone when the Battery Saver feature is enabled. To turn on Battery Saver, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Saver and toggle on the feature. The first thing you'll notice is that the phone goes into Dark mode in order to save you some battery life. It also limits or stops some apps from running in the background to lower the phone's energy consumption. But this isn't anything new.
One new thing that the Battery Saver feature does now in Android 14 Beta 3 is dim the wallpaper. This used to require you to enable the Extreme Battery Saver (more on this later) or use Bedtime mode on Digital Wellbeing to get the wallpaper to dim. Now this will happen when you have the Battery Saver on. Considering that one of the complaints about recent Pixel handsets has been the disappointing battery life on the Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro despite having a large capacity 5,000mAh battery, this can be used to ease that pain a little.
When the wallpaper gets dim, it also sets up a higher contrast with a dark background and bright app icons. That makes it easier to spot certain apps on the home screen and looks pretty cool, especially at night.
The Battery Saver page in Android 14 Beta 3
Another thing we noticed on Android 14 Beta 3 is that the Extreme Battery Saver no longer has a separate listing and is now part of the Battery Saver page. With Extreme Battery Saver, even more features are turned off and only essential apps and apps you add to the essential list can be used. To turn on this feature, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Saver and tap the button next to the Extreme Battery Saver option.
Other things that you can do if your battery is running low and you are on the go without a way to charge your phone:
- If your phone supports wireless charging, find a pal whose phone has reverse wireless charging and get some additional power this way.
- Turn on Airplane mode to shut off all radios until you really need to use your phone.
- Lower the brightness to the lowest setting where you can feel comfortable looking at the screen.
- Bring a fully charged power bank if you won't be able to access an outlet.
- Buy a car charger and use it whenever you're in the car.
Try some of these hints and you might be surprised how long your phone can survive without having the battery die on you.
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