Pixel: The Always-on Display Becomes Intelligent, Google Will Disable the Screen When You’re Inactive
The first Pixel smartphones featuring an Always-on Display (AOD) were the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, launched in 2017. This feature allows users to see the time, date, battery level, and some notifications even when the phone is locked or in sleep mode.
Convenient, indeed… but energy-consuming.
Keeping part of the screen on continuously leads to a slight decrease in battery life, which can be troublesome for users who are mindful of their battery usage.
A Smarter AOD for Saving Battery on Pixel Devices
Some competing smartphones allow users to schedule times to activate or deactivate the Always-on Display. This feature enables users to take advantage of it only when necessary—such as during the day—and automatically turn it off at night or while working.
However, until now, Pixel devices have not offered this functionality.
According to a recent discovery in a Canary version of Android (the most experimental channel of the system), Google is reportedly developing a solution: an option that automatically disables the AOD when no user activity is detected.
A New Feature Found in Android Canary
Android Authority uncovered new strings in the code for this version of Android related to AOD behavior:
- One string indicates that the Always-on Display turns off when no activity is detected.
- Another mentions that the display is deactivated as soon as the user is inactive.
This would help conserve energy without the need to manually disable the feature in Settings → Display → Always On.
How Google Might Implement this Feature
It is still unclear how Android will define the “inactive” state. However, Google may take inspiration from Samsung, whose “Auto AOD” mode turns off the permanent display if the phone has been in a pocket for a few minutes or if the user appears to be asleep.
If the company follows its usual pattern, this new feature may first come to the latest Pixel models before being backported to older ones, like the Pixel 6 Pro.
