For most laptop users,battery liferemains a key concern. Nobody wants to keep thinking about plugging in their device, and you want to be able to use it all day without fear of it dying. Fortunately, in recent years, battery life on Windows laptops has improved significantly due to several factors, including more efficient processors and optimizations to the Windows operating system.
To further extend your laptop’s battery life, Microsoft has started testing a new feature inWindows 11called “adaptive energy saver mode.” This new mode will automatically enable or disable Windows 11’senergy saver mode, based on your PC’s system load rather than just its remaining battery. Additionally, it won’t reduce the brightness of your device’s display, making it less noticeable when enabled.
Adaptive energy saver mode is only available on Windows 11 PCs with a battery, meaning it can be used on laptops, tablets, and handheld devices, but not desktop PCs. It’s currently only accessible in a test build of Windows 11 but is expected to be released widely to all users later this year.
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Adaptive energy saver mode has potential
However, Microsoft didn’t fully explain how it works
Currently, the energy-saver mode on Windows is typically enabled when your battery reaches approximately 30 percent. It reduces your screen’s brightness by 30 percent, pauses any Windows updates processing, disables transparency effects on Windows backgrounds, and limits the activity of some background apps (such as OneDrive or Phone Link) to conserve battery. Energy saver replaced battery saver mode on Windows 11 PCs with the 24H2 update or later.
This new adaptive energy-saver mode, which Microsoft is testing, will automatically enable or disable energy saver for you, depending on the tasks you’re performing, not just the percentage of your battery. In itsWindows Insider blog post, Microsoft didn’t provide the most detailed explanation of how it works. Still, based on its description, my interpretation is that it only automatically activates energy-saver mode if it detects that you don’t need your PC’s full power at a specific moment.
I do appreciate that it doesn’t alter your screen’s brightness, making it more subtle and less distracting when activated, and that this feature is fully optional and not enabled by default.
So, suppose you’re browsing your email or reading a news article and using very little computing power. In that case, energy saver mode may kick in to conserve battery, as you don’t require many resources to accomplish that task. However, if you start a game or open an application that requires more CPU and GPU power, energy saver mode will likely be automatically turned off, as you need the full capability of your PC.
In theory, adaptive energy saver mode might significantly improve your PC’s battery life, but I need to test it myself before I can definitively say that. I do appreciate that it doesn’t alter your screen’s brightness, making it more subtle and less distracting when activated, and that this feature is entirely optional and not enabled by default. If you don’t want to use adaptive energy saver mode, you don’t have to, but you can turn it on whenever you’d like. It’s mind-boggling that a feature like this isn’t already available, so I’m glad Microsoft is working on developing this now. Better late than never.
Once adaptive energy saver mode becomes available for all Windows 11 users, you’re able to find it underSettings > System > Power & Battery. There, you’ll seeEnergy saver(as shown in the image above), and below it, you’ll findAlways use energy saveralong with a list of options to select from: On, Off, or Adaptive. The feature is currently only available in a Canary Channel test build of Windows 11, but it is likely to roll out widely later this year.
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