Long before Google announced the name Android Pie, the company was talking about the AI that would be included in the latest version of its mobile operating system.
Two of the most interesting “AI” features are Adaptive Battery and Adaptive Brightness. Both come by default in the new operating system but can be disabled very easily: Settings – Battery – Adaptive Battery and Settings – Display and Adaptive Brightness.
So far, Google has not shared any information about how exactly these two features work. However, it is probably worth taking a look.
Ben Poiesz, who leads the team responsible for Android’s AI features, spoke with VB and explained what Adaptive Battery and Adaptive Brightness are.
Poiesz’s team collaborated on these two features with DeepMind, an AI company that Google acquired in January 2014.
“Both the (Android and DeepMind) teams are based in London,” Poiesz said. “They’re in the same building, but on different floors. That allowed us to work closely together to figure out what the right strategy was.” But let’s see what he means:
Adaptive Battery: 5% reduction in total CPU
The Adaptive Battery feature, in short, calculates the apps you use frequently and keeps those apps in memory, while apps you don't use are cleared from memory once you're done with them. In other words, Android Pie can adapt to your usage patterns to only spend battery power on the apps that Adaptive Battery thinks need it.
Adaptive Brightness: 10% fewer adjustments
You can think of Adaptive Brightness as automatic brightness. It learns your habits by watching how you adjust the brightness slider in different conditions and then tries to do it for you.
How long does it take for a device user to notice the differences?
“My personal experience is about a week, when I feel like I’m no longer tweaking,” Poiesz said.
The reason Poiesz couldn’t give an answer for all users is simple: We’re all different. Adaptive Brightness takes about a week to stabilize, but it continues to learn as the user uses their device. If you don’t use it a lot, the AI will take a while to learn your habits, since each user has different preferences for brightness.
Android Pie: Device Health Services
Of course, what is worth mentioning is that the Adaptive Battery and Adaptive Brightness features can be updated separately from Android. The team doesn't have to wait for Android 9.1 or the next update (OTA) to improve its models. This is possible because the two new features are located in an Android application (APK).
For the curious, it is the same application that is responsible for predicting, in the "Settings" application, when your battery is about to run out, in addition to its use in Adaptive Battery and Adaptive Brightness.
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