Cell phone manufacturers are always looking for new ways to help reduce the rapid loss of battery life, something that is becoming increasingly difficult as advances are made that let us use our phones for more and more, taking an even bigger toll on the battery. (Remember the days when your phone could go for days in between charging?)
The most common two suggestions for conserving battery life are quitting out of all apps that run in the background, even after closing them out, and turning down the brightness on your screen. Many phones will sense the life left in your battery and automatically reduce the brightness on its own — or even do it based on whether your current activity warrants a vibrant screen.
Unconvinced that brightness is the function that should be focused on, Google’s new mobile patent would see that devices focus on three other display variables.
First, once the device senses that the battery life is entering the dangerously low zone, the phone will disable and blur and animation functions which would otherwise be automatic.
As the battery continues to drain, the phone will make its next move. In addition to the above, it will then reduce the phone’s resolution.
Finally, the patent shows that a third step will be taken, and the phone will only allow select colors to appear on the display.
On the one hand, if the above helps to make our phone’s battery last even longer, it’s a good thing. But on the other hand, we pay extra for devices with beautiful screens, and brightness reduction seems like an aesthetically better way to save on battery life.
