Google Is Adding A Way To See Which Apps Drain Your Phone Battery Most: You start your day with a nearly full battery, barely touch your phone, and suddenly you are at 20 percent before lunch. It is a frustrating experience many Android users know far too well. Background apps have been quietly draining battery life for years, but now Google is finally stepping in with a solution.
A Smarter Way to Find Battery-Draining Apps:
Google is rolling out a new system-level battery metric designed to catch apps that keep your phone awake when the screen is off. This issue happens when certain apps use something called partial wake locks. The new metric, called “excessive partial wake locks,” measures how often an app stops your phone from going into deep sleep.
Sometimes apps need to run tasks in the background, like backing up files or syncing data, but others take advantage and keep working even when they do not need to. That ongoing activity drains your battery even while the phone is sitting still, screen off, untouched.
Google and Samsung are Working Together to Fix It
Google developed this new tracking system alongside Samsung, and it is already being added to Android’s core vitals metrics. These vitals help Google understand how well apps perform and how efficiently they use power. With this new data point, Android will be able to track which apps misuse background activity and use too much energy.
Soon, Android will be able to warn users about battery-heavy apps, and developers will be pushed to improve how their apps behave. Think of it as Android pointing out the troublemakers before they steal hours of battery life.
A Deadline You Should Know About
Google is not just hoping developers fix the issue; there is a firm deadline. Starting March 1, 2026, any app that keeps a device awake for more than two hours without a good reason will face consequences. These apps could lose visibility in Play Store search results, recommendations, and curated sections. In more serious cases, Android may even issue notifications to users warning them about the app.
This gives developers a clear reason to optimize their apps or risk losing valuable exposure on the Play Store.
Good News for Users, More Responsibility for Developers
This update will not magically stop every battery-draining app overnight, but it is a meaningful step forward. Users will have clearer information about what is draining their power, and developers will have more pressure to build apps that use energy responsibly.
Our phones are with us constantly, whether we are working, commuting or scrolling late at night. Knowing what is secretly chewing through your battery could end up being one of the most useful Android upgrades yet.
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