Determining whether your phone’s battery woes stem from aging hardware or an overly demanding app can be frustrating. Google aims to make this easier with a new initiative announced on the Android Developers Blog.
The company is rolling out a battery usage metric for app developers, designed to monitor and flag apps that violate Google’s battery efficiency guidelines. If an app consistently exceeds these limits, users will see a warning in the Play Store stating:
“This app may use more battery than expected due to high background activity.”
Such a label could discourage downloads, putting pressure on developers to optimize their apps.
A key focus of this metric is wake locks—mechanisms that prevent a smartphone from entering sleep mode so apps can run background processes even when the screen is off. Google identifies wake locks as a major contributor to battery drain and has set a strict threshold:
Any app holding more than two cumulative hours of non-exempt wake locks within a 24-hour period will be flagged as excessive.
Exceptions apply for background activities that provide clear user benefits, such as audio playback or user-initiated data transfers.
Developers who fail to address these issues risk more than just warnings. Google may also exclude offending apps from certain discovery sections in the Play Store, reducing their visibility. These new rules take effect on March 1, giving developers only a few months to comply before enforcement begins.
