Microsoft Tests New Adaptive Energy Saver to Extend Windows 11 Laptop Battery Life

Highlights

Microsoft’s adaptive energy saver for Windows 11 automatically adjusts settings to extend laptop battery life without changing screen brightness.

Microsoft is rolling out a clever new feature designed to increase battery life in Windows 11 laptops. The tech giant is currently testing an adaptive energy saver mode that will automatically switch the energy saver on or off based on your activity, not just the remaining battery life.

Traditionally, Windows 11’s energy saver dims your screen by 30 percent, disables transparency effects, pauses background app activity, and halts non-critical updates. Apps like OneDrive, OneNote, and Phone Link may not fully sync during this time.

What makes this new adaptive energy saver interesting is that it works behind the scenes without lowering screen brightness, making it less disruptive for users on laptops, tablets, and handheld devices.

“Adaptive energy saver is an opt-in feature that automatically enables and disables energy saver, without changing screen brightness, based on the power state of the device and the current system load,” says Microsoft’s Windows Insider team. The feature is currently being tested with Canary Channel Windows 11 users and is expected to roll out more widely later this year.

Desktop PCs won’t get this new adaptive version since they don’t run on batteries, but Microsoft did extend its main energy saver mode to all PCs last year, helping even desktops cut down on power consumption.