Microsoft tests adaptive energy saver to extend battery life on Windows laptops

Something to look forward to: If there's one thing all Windows laptop users would appreciate, it's a longer battery life. Thankfully, Microsoft is testing a new feature in Windows 11 that will make your portable PCs last longer when not plugged into an outlet: an adaptive energy saver mode – one that doesn't affect the screen brightness.

Windows 11 Energy Saver mode – formerly called Battery Saver – is a one-click low-power profile. Enabling it activates several power-saving features, including reducing the screen brightness by 30% (the amount can be customized), capping power delivery to the CPU/GPU, pausing background activity/apps, stopping Microsoft apps from syncing, disabling some visual effects, and more.

Now, Microsoft is beginning to preview Adaptive Energy Saver on devices with a battery. The company explains that it is an opt-in feature that automatically enables and disables energy saver, without changing screen brightness, based on the ...