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| Google fixes battery drain issue in Chrome OS |
Google started rolling out Chrome OS version 89 in March of this year.
The 10th Anniversary Update includes a number of new features, including a new phone hub that lets users connect Android phones to Chromebooks.
This feature adds a built-in Control Center to Chrome OS that allows users to check their phone's battery life, turn hotspots on or off, and locate their devices.
It also allows users to reply to messages and check the tab of the nearest Google Chrome browser.
However, since its release, many users have reported battery drain issues on their phones when using this feature to connect to a Chromebook.
Many people are experiencing the same issue on different devices because Android attributes excessive battery drain to Google Play Services.
Disabling the phone center is currently the only solution. It appears that Google is aware of this issue and is working on a fix.
The new promise from Chromium Gerrit shows that Google is working hard to improve the efficiency of communication between Chromebooks and Android phones.
They are described as follows: This change allows Near Communications customers to request a stay for a specified period and time when connected to devices in the vicinity. Nearby sharing will keep the default setting and Phone Hub will choose the most energy efficient option.
Battery usage in Chrome OS
In the current version of Chrome OS. Phone Hub queries the connection status of the phone every 5 seconds.
The above changes basically increase polling time, which is definitely a battery drain issue.
However, the increased interval also means that the Phone Hub will take longer to update the phone's status. The difference may not be obvious because the change increases the duration to only 15 seconds.
It should be noted that there is currently no confirmation of when this change will be rolled out to users.