Range anxiety on smartphones is no joke — it may be a lot easier to recharge your phone than your car when it suddenly dies on you, but it isn’t fun either way. Sometimes bigger batteries are the answer, but a much simpler solution might be in your software. And the Google Play Store is aiming to make that much easier to find.
Beginning this month, the Play Store is analyzing available apps to identify if they are high battery users. This involves conducting “wake lock technical quality treatments” that look for apps that irresponsibly use partial wake lock, a tool that keeps a phone’s CPU running even when the screen is off so an app can conduct background activity. It’s a harmless tool when used well, but many developers fall into the trap of using it unnecessarily because they lack proper knowledge of better options.
Apps in the Play Store that run afoul of Google’s new Excessive Partial Wake Lock usage threshold, will be flagged in the store for all to see. The most egregious offenders could even be removed from recommendation lists, meaning fewer potential users will encounter them. The hope is that it will be a good incentive for app developers to make sure their products don’t put excessive drain on your battery.
