What you need to know
- Google Maps is finally tackling its battery problem with a built-in power saving mode that focuses on keeping navigation alive when your phone’s running low.
- The feature aims to show only essentials like next turns, distance, and ETA while cutting visual clutter.
- Maps will switch to a monochrome display, removing colors and extra UI elements to reduce power draw.
Google Maps is a battery hog. While it’s the app you rely on most when you’re lost or on a long road trip, it’s the same app that will chew through your battery, possibly leaving you stranded with a black screen. While your phone’s system-wide battery saver mode tries to help, it often makes things worse by limiting GPS activity precisely when you need it.
Google has finally heard our collective cries, with the company potentially developing a dedicated power-saving mode built directly into the Google Maps app for Android, and it takes a hardcore approach to keeping your phone alive.
Early code spotted by the folks at Android Authority suggests it’s a complete rethinking of how Maps behaves when your phone’s running low. The feature was spotted in the latest Google Maps for Android (version 25.44.03.824313610), where code strings reference a “Power saving mode” that shows only “key information such as next turns.”
Instead of relying on your phone’s general battery saver, Maps’ built-in mode is designed to preserve what matters: navigation. Once enabled, the screen reportedly switches to a monochrome view, ditching its colorful visuals and other interface elements.
Strips to the essentials
The app still displays essentials like your next turn, distance, and estimated time of arrival, but trims away everything else to cut down on power use. This new mode could be triggered by pressing the power button during navigation, which would make activating it quick and intuitive.
Early strings suggest this mode works across driving, walking, and two-wheeler navigation, though public transit routes might not be supported yet. It also appears that the feature runs independently from Android’s system-wide battery saver, meaning you can use it anytime, even when your regular saver mode is off.
This could be very helpful for anyone who needs Maps to last on long trips or hikes. There are some downsides, though. Landscape mode might not work, which could be a problem for drivers who use their phones sideways. The black-and-white display might also make it harder to see things like traffic or highlighted routes, but it’s a fair trade for more battery life.
While there’s no official release date yet, it could arrive in a future beta before landing in the stable version. Once it rolls out, it could be one of those small but genuinely useful updates that make a real difference the next time you’re navigating with 5% battery left and no charger in sight.