Google is improving the way its Android operating system (OS) is showing battery stats with the latest Marshmallow preview build.
Android 6.0 Marshmallow is set to roll out soon in its final form and is already shaping up as a solid OS with a slew of neat features. Google has recently released the third developer preview of Android 6.0 Marshmallow and a new field is now present in the battery stats to offer even more details on battery usage.
Android has always offered more detailed battery stats compared to iOS, for instance, and now it's further improved with this new field that shows the usage of battery capacity in milliamp-hours (mAh) for individual applications.
Smartphone batteries are rated in mAh to denote their performance and consumption. The new field for battery stats in Android 6.0 Marshmallow now shows "computed power use" in mAh so users can get a better idea of how much individual apps affect battery life.
With the computed power use shown in mAh, users can estimate just how much battery an app consumed by comparing the figure with the rated mAh capacity of their device's battery unit.
It's worth pointing out, however, that while this computed usage gives an idea of each app's consumption, it remains unclear just how accurately it reflects real usage.
Either way, users can see this computed power use for any app simply by accessing the battery stats and tapping on one of the apps or services listed there. Images that surfaced on Google+ show the mAh stats for individual apps under the app's "use details."
Other than the new battery stats field, Android 6.0 Marshmallow will retain the already-familiar Material Design guidelines, smooth navigation and minimalistic design, while also changing a few more things to enhance the overall performance.
The latest OS version will improve the volume controls and notifications, and will allow users to turn down their device's volume past vibrate to completely silent. Turning the volume all the way down will put the device in an Alarms-only mode, however, which means it won't ring or vibrate for any notifications but it will still ring if you have an alarm set up, unless you change this setting. Users can opt for Total silence, Alarms only or Priority only.
Android 6.0 Marshmallow will also put more control into users' hands when it comes to app permissions, and it will also allow them to see the hardware permissions of each app.
