Google to Help Android App Developers Identify Excessive Battery Drain With New Android Vitals Metric

Google has announced that it is beta testing a new metric that will help app developers identify issues with misbehaving Android apps that cause unnecessary battery drain. A new Android Vitals metric designed to pinpoint excessive wake locks, one of the primary reasons for battery drain when a smartphone is idle, is available to app developers as part of a new beta. The company says that the new metrics could eventually be used to highlight optimised Android apps on the Google Play store.

New Android Vitals Metric Identifies Battery Drain Caused by Excessive Wake Locks

In a blog post detailing the newest addition to the Android Vitals metrics, Google says that it now allows developers to see a new metric that identifies excessive wake locks. A wake lock is a feature used by an app that allows it to use the phone's CPU in the background, even when the screen is locked. Wake locks prevent the handset from going into a low-power state, which means that the device's idle battery drain will increase.

While developers can make use of partial wake locks to complete certain tasks like syncing photos or downloading content after the display is turned off, apps that use wake locks too often can cause heavy battery drain on a smartphone.

Google says its new Android Vitals metric is designed to help developers keep track of "excessive wake locks". The company says that if an app holds partial wake locks for a total of three hours (in a 24-hour period), it will be deemed as "excessive" usage. Developers can refer to recently published documentation on excessive wake locks.

OEMs will also share "user experience insights" with Google as part of the ongoing effort to tackle excessive wake locks. Google says that this is a "multi-year plan" to help developers build less resource intensive apps for Android smartphones.

"Samsung is excited to collaborate with Android and Google Play on these new performance metrics. By sharing our user experience insights, we aim to help developers build truly optimized apps that deliver exceptional performance and battery life across the ecosystem. We believe this collaboration will lead to a more consistent and positive experience for all Android users," the South Korean company said in a prepared statement.

Google also says that once the excessive wake locks metric has reached general availability, the company will also consider adding details to the Google Play store that could point out optimised apps to users. The company might also introduce more metrics to track other critical performance issues, and these could arrive in the coming months.