In a major move to improve Android performance and user experience, Google has announced that the Play Store will soon begin alerting users about apps that consume excessive battery power. The new feature, set to roll out on March 1, 2026, will flag apps that drain a phone’s battery due to unnecessary background activity.
The initiative, detailed in a recent Google Developers blog post, introduces a new system metric called “Excessive Partial Wake Lock.” The metric, which Google developed in collaboration with Samsung, has been tested in beta for months and is now being made available to all Android app developers worldwide.
A partial wake lock occurs when an app prevents a device’s processor from going into sleep mode, even when the screen is off. This can cause significant battery drain, especially in apps that constantly sync data or run location and network checks in the background.
With this update, developers will receive alerts about apps that hold wake locks for extended periods, giving them the opportunity to optimize performance before users begin to experience faster battery drain.
For users, the Play Store will now display new warning messages on app listings or during installation if a particular app is known to affect battery life more than usual. This transparency will empower users to make better choices and encourage developers to build energy-efficient apps.
Google’s blog explained, “Our goal is to make Android devices smarter and longer-lasting by working closely with developers to reduce background energy consumption.” The company added that developers will also gain access to detailed performance analytics through the Android Vitals Dashboard, allowing them to track real-time data on wake locks, background activity, and CPU usage.
Samsung’s participation in the initiative signals how deeply the effort is tied to Android’s hardware ecosystem. The company first integrated the metric into One UI 7.0, and with this wider rollout, Google aims to ensure consistent energy reporting across all Android devices.
The move comes as part of Google’s broader campaign to make Android more efficient and sustainable, addressing long-standing user complaints about inconsistent battery life across devices.
The update will begin appearing automatically on the Play Store for all supported devices in early March 2026, with gradual rollout expected across regions.
