At last week’s Google I/O 2024 event, the company made a variety of announcements, including details about Android 15, which is presently undergoing beta testing. One piece of information that surfaced a little later is that the new operating system may increase smartphone battery life by up to three hours.

This is provided by Android Authority and the Android Faithful podcast, in which President of the Android Ecosystem Sameet Samat and Vice President of Engineering for the Android Platform Dave Burke discussed some of the more technical aspects of Android 15.

According to Burke, Android 15 smartphones can enter the low-power doze mode around 50% faster than Android 14 devices because of some internal adjustments. This could result in significant battery life savings.

Burke continued by stating that an additional three hours were passing between battery recharges on some of the devices that Google had examined. If your phone usually runs out of juice by early evening, that should last you till the end of the night.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that your Google Pixel 8 or Samsung Galaxy S24 will get an instant three-hour battery gain when Android 15 is installed. That is, however, a positive sign that the software update will significantly increase efficiency.

Android 14 was delayed until October 2023 for official public release. This year, Google is probably going to stick to the same plan, meaning that devices will begin receiving the OS in time for the debut of the Google Pixel 9.

Among the many new features that Google has officially unveiled for Android 15 is a new Private Space locker that is kept apart from your phone. Although not yet official, additional functionality like satellite messaging have been observed in the code.

Burke and Samat also discussed Wear OS 5’s increased efficiency, which will result in, for example, marathon runs using 20% less power than they do on Wear OS 4. This should enable longer battery life for the top Wear OS smartwatches.