Google tests a display hack that could make the Pixel battery last longer

What you need to know

• Google is reportedly developing a new option for its Pixels AOD (always-on display) that might aid its battery life.
• This new option will let Android's AOD track a user's "activity" to determine whether or not it should disable the feature to preserve battery.
• The Android Canary channel arrived this past summer, as a primary avenue for developers to step into the world of early API builds.

Google is reportedly working on a new always-on display that might help extend its Pixel battery life.

In a report by Mishaal Rahman (Android Authority), a deep dive into the latest Android Canary build was highlighted, and it seems that Google is working on an always-on display (AOD) update. The upgrade is seemingly designed to give the Pixel's AOD a little more smarts when it comes to whether or not the user is around to interact with it.

Rahman states that the newest Canary build features a new string with the following on-device description: "power down the display when no user activity is detected to save power."

As Rahman reiterates, Google Pixels already turn off the AOD if your phone is in your pocket or if flipped over (screen down). What "activity" could mean in this case could involve a couple of things. As Rahman mentions, perhaps the Pixel's proximity sensor could come into greater effect here, to determine if the user is near their phone and moving around, or whatever the case may be. Moreover, tracking the user's "activity" could also mean whether or not they've picked up their device to check a notification or not in a while.

There's no hiding the fact that the AOD can severely drain your battery, which is why Google is supposedly working on this new option. If users left the room, but left their Pixel's AOD on for a while, it'll shut off, saving them from returning to a nearly dead phone.

Refining the Pixel

Google revealed its Android Canary channel during the summer, as an avenue for developers to step into the core of its API development. Essentially, developers can test extremely early versions of Android to provide feedback and to see what new features are coming in future updates. While it's similar to the Chrome Canary channel, Google doesn't update its Android nearly as often.

Those involved see new content once every month.

What users can likely step into more frequently is Google's Android 16 tests, which recently moved into QPR2 Beta 3. Enrolled testers found a new button for app shortcuts for their home screen, as well as welcome changes to Live Captions. The Beta 3 patch is quite substantial, bringing in a host of fixes that testers reported.

There was a severe bootloader problem with Beta 3; however, that's recently been patched, and users shouldn't see any issues.