Galaxy Note 7 power saving mode lowers resolution to save battery

With removable batteries becoming rarer, power saving modes have become increasingly useful. As time goes on, we're seeing manufacturers stuff their phones' power saving modes with more options, but the freshly announced Galaxy Note 7 will be coming with a power saving feature that should actually do a lot to cut down on battery drain.

In addition to decreasing CPU speeds and cutting off background data connections, the Galaxy Note 7 will allow users to decrease the phone's resolution when they activate power saving mode. Opting for that particular feature will drop the Note 7's resolution to as low as 1280x720, which Samsung says can increase battery life by as much as 35 hours when used in tandem with other power saving features. Obviously your mileage will vary when using power saving mode, but there's no doubt that decreasing display resolution is going to help.

The Note 7's power saving mode apparently comes with three preset configurations: off, medium, and maximum. When medium power saving is activated, display resolution drops down to 1920x1080, which should still be high enough for most folks. Performance will take a hit as well, but not as much as it will when maximum mode is activated, which will see CPU speed brought as low as they can be, network functions disabled entirely, and resolution set to 720p.

Users will also be able to set up their own power saving profiles, so if you don't mind operating at 720p but still want network features to work, you can set up a configuration that does just that. All in all, it sounds like Samsung is at least attempting to offer users more flexibility when it comes to preserving battery life, which is good news indeed. We'll see just how well the Note 7's various power saving options work when the phone arrives later this month, but in the meantime, check our hands-on with the device to see what it brings to the table.

SOURCE: SamMobile