A new customizable app for Samsung Galaxy S10 allows users to turn the smartphone's hole-punch camera into a smart battery life indicator.
Energy Ring from app maker IJP adds a small colorful ring around the Galaxy S10 camera that helps indicate just how much battery charge is still left in the device. The ring can be set to show 25 percent increments of battery life.
The app also lets users change the color, thickness, and direction of the ring to suit their personal preferences.
IJP's Energy Ring App
What makes Energy Ring a nifty app to have is that it removes the need for users to activate their smartphone's screen to find out if they need to charge the device or not.
Believe it or not, this can become very annoying to some people if they have to do it several times throughout a day, especially when they are on the go.
Users also do not have to worry about giving too many permissions to the app to become active.
"Energy Ring does not read any Notification whatsoever, it merely relies on it to be alive," IJP wrote on app's Google Play entry. "Be assured that the app does not access anything."
The app is currently available for Samsung Galaxy S10 and S10e, but a version for the S10+ is already in the works, according to the app maker.
Galaxy S10 Hole-Punch Camera
It is interesting to note where IJP chose to place its energy ring: at the Galaxy S10's hole-punch camera.
Fans of the Samsung Galaxy S series have had mixed opinions on the new feature. While some people believe the punch-hole design works well with the Galaxy S10's Infinity Display, others think that it is not as stylish and functional as the iPhone X's notch camera.
Chance Miller of 9to5Mac even said the placement of the circular cutout for the Galaxy S10's camera in the upper-right corner of the screen is distracting compared to how the notch on the iPhone X blends with its upper bezel.
Despite its initial reputation as an eyesore, the hole-punch camera was soon accepted by users who found creative ways to incorporate the new feature to the Samsung smartphone's design.
A Twitter user by the name of Matt B shared several mock-ups of wallpapers that help the Galaxy S10+'s hole-punch camera blend in.
The first wallpaper showed how the camera sensor looked a lot like the robot Johnny 5 from the 1980s sci-fi film Short Circuit while the second wallpaper compared it to NASA's Mars rover. The third wallpaper made the new S10+ feature into the wise-cracking robot Bender from Futurama.
Meanwhile, the hole-punch camera on the Galaxy S10 suspiciously looks like R2-D2 from the Star Wars film franchise.
Some users have even created a subreddit dedicated to such cool-looking wallpapers. Users can find different background designs for their Samsung devices, including other famous pop culture characters such as Smash Bros., Minions, Big Hero, and Wall-E.
The popularity of the custom Galaxy S10 series wallpapers led to Samsung creating its own official backgrounds for its devices. The company released six designs that try accentuate the presence of the hole-punch camera on the smartphones.
