Windows 11s New Energy Saver Mode Is Good News For Your Laptop, And Even Your Desktop

Laptop battery life has improved significantly in recent years, especially if you use a MacBook with a dedicated M-series chip, and it's not just because of more efficient hardware. This is software, and Microsoft wants to improve power consumption in Windows 11. The company has released a new power saving mode that is being tested in the Windows 11 beta and can be used by members of the Insider program.

The aim of power saving mode is to extend the battery life of the laptop, but it also helps save power on the desktop. This feature surpasses Windows' Power Saver mode, but is still experimental.

To play with the new power saving mode, you'll need to upgrade to Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26002. You can find the new power saving setting in the Quick Settings menu or in the Settings app. If you choose the latter, look for energy saving devices in the Energy section below.

Microsoft says the new Power Saver “extends and improves” Battery Saver. As expected, the feature extends battery life and reduces consumption by “disabling some system functions.” It's not clear what this means in terms of performance. But it's safe to say that you'll want to disable it if you want to use your Windows 11 PC. For example, when using resource-intensive applications or games.

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In addition to turning it on and off manually, you can also enable power saving mode automatically when a certain battery percentage is reached. If you use the laptop outdoors without a power outlet or external battery, this can be a serious mistake.

The interesting thing about the new power saver is that it can reduce the overall power consumption of desktop computers. If you want to save more power, Windows 11 features can help you. You just have to activate it at any time. This means that a connected laptop can use less power.

Microsoft doesn't provide energy savings figures for such scenarios, and that's understandable. The feature is still in the experimental stage. Additionally, statistics vary on many Windows 11 PCs.

Nevertheless, the new energy saving feature appears to be a Windows 11 update specifically for laptops. However, it is unclear when the stable version of Windows 11 will arrive or whether there will be new power savers after the beta test.

I also want to mention that Energy Saver is coming to Windows 11 Insider on the Canary channel. These are newer versions of Windows with “Hot Press Disable” features that can cause problems. Unfortunately, if version 26002 has a bug that reduces battery life, you don't know if Power Saver will work for you.

For more information about build 26002, see this link.