The first stable build of Android 8.0 Oreo revamps battery usage statistics and related features in an effort to expand their capabilities compared to the earlier Developer Previews of the mobile operating system, some users have discovered on Tuesday. Initial reports suggest that the new Battery section of the app was already introduced as part of the fourth and final Developer Preview of the OS, though the change may have also been introduced by Google as a server-side switch seeing how no one noticed it until a few days back despite the fact that the Android O Developer Preview 4 was out for almost a month before the software hit the stable channel this Monday.
The new screen comes with a “Show full device usage” command which can be selected by tapping the three-dot icon in the top-right corner of the interface, which will revamp the menu and make it more similar to the one that Google introduced in Android 7.0 Nougat. Being a completely optional feature, this addition allows users who aren’t interested in micro-managing their apps to hide the new battery usage stats interface and revert back to the one that just shows general device usage. The alternative menu is still missing the battery usage graph and Google gave no indication that this particular functionality will ever return to Android. Likewise, the mobile data usage screen in Android 8.0 Oreo is now also free of a visual representation of usage over time which does streamline the overall user interface but also makes it less informative. The main battery graph is still available in Android 8.0 Oreo but is harder to access, being part of an obscure interface that can only be opened by tapping the battery diagram in the system Settings app. Refer to the gallery below to see how the new feature works in practice.
Android 8.0 Oreo is currently in the process of rolling out to the Google Pixel, Pixel XL, and compatible Nexus smartphones, as well as the Pixel C tablet. Users who are eager to try out the new version of the operating system as soon as possible are also able to manually flash it onto their devices, though Google’s OTA is expected to be available worldwide in a matter of days.
