Win11 tests adaptive energy-saving feature: automatically turns on and off based on usage scenarios

 On July 14, Microsoft announced that Windows 11 is testing a new feature called “Adaptive Power Saving,” which intelligently enables power-saving mode based on the user's current computer usage, rather than relying on battery power levels.

Microsoft introduced “Adaptive Power Saving” as an optional feature in its official blog. This feature automatically enables or disables power-saving mode based on the device's power status and current system load, without altering screen brightness. The introduction of this feature aims to address the long-standing issue of poor battery life in Windows devices. By automatically enabling power-saving mode when users are performing tasks with low computational demands, it is expected to extend the battery life of laptops.

Although Microsoft has not disclosed the specific technical details of this feature, it is speculated that it may monitor current CPU and GPU usage to determine whether the user requires additional computational power to complete the current task. If users are only performing lightweight tasks such as writing emails or browsing the web, the “Adaptive Power Saving” feature will automatically activate to conserve battery life; however, when users need to perform high-load tasks such as video rendering or gaming, the feature will automatically deactivate to ensure the device can provide sufficient performance support.

It is worth noting that the “Adaptive Power Saving” feature does not adjust screen brightness while in use. This is likely to minimize user awareness of power-saving mode switches and avoid inconvenience caused by frequent changes in screen brightness. However, the icon on the taskbar will still indicate whether the power-saving mode is active.

Additionally, the “Adaptive Power Saving” mode is not enabled by default. Users must manually access system settings to enable this feature, allowing the computer to automatically activate power-saving mode during use. Otherwise, the system will continue to use the traditional energy-saving mode settings, which automatically activate energy-saving mode when the battery level drops to a certain percentage (typically 20% or 30%). This mode reduces screen brightness and system load, including limiting CPU and GPU power, to extend battery life.

Currently, the “Adaptive Power Saving” feature is only available to Windows Insider test users in the Windows 11 Canary channel. Whether it will be officially released will depend on user feedback. Microsoft has previously tested some features in the Windows Insider program that ultimately were not officially released, so the future of this feature remains to be seen.

In recent years, Microsoft has made several improvements to Windows 11's power-saving mode, even extending it to desktop computers without batteries. This means that desktop computers can now also enable power-saving mode. However, the “Adaptive Power Saving” feature is currently only available for laptops with batteries, and desktop computers cannot use this automatic power-saving mode. Users can still choose to manually enable power-saving mode, or even set it to always be enabled, just like on laptops.

This feature is currently available to test users with the Windows 11 27898 version pushed to the Canary channel last week. Microsoft has adopted an A/B testing mechanism, meaning that even if users upgrade to the latest preview version, some may temporarily not see this feature.