X
Tech
Why you can trust ZDNET : ZDNET independently tests and researches products to bring you our best recommendations and advice. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Our process

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?

ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.

When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.

ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.

Close

This Android app shows you everything you need to know about your smartphone's battery

Get in-depth information about the battery in your Android smartphone.
Written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Senior Contributing Editor

A lot of readers have been asking me lately about what's the best battery app for Android. Android offers quite a bit in the way of information about the battery and how apps are using it (head over to Settings > Battery, tap the three dots in the top-right corner of the screen and tap Battery usage), but compared to what's on offer in iOS, it's pretty basic.

There are a lot of apps in the Google Play Store that deal specifically with the battery, and after weeks of testing, I've narrowed down my favorite -- AccuBattery.

Must read: You're using your Android and Mac's fingerprint reader all wrong

As well as offering deep insights into battery health, information such as actual battery capacity, charge rate, temperature, and voltage, it offers a wealth of other information.

For example, I can:

  • Set a charge alarm so I can keep battery charge under 80 percent to prolong lifespan
  • Look up battery consumption for the apps I run
  • See how often the smartphone is woken from deep sleep
  • Get estimates of remaining use and remaining charge time
  • Discharge speeds with the display on and off
AccuBattery

AccuBattery

And there's lots more.

It's the sort of app that you have to install and run for a while to get the full benefit from it, and after a week or so, I started to get some deep insights into what was using my battery a lot (having YouTube Premium running background was a heavy battery user for me).

The app also offers tips on getting the most from your battery.

It's a good app. I ran the free ad-supported version for a week or so, but then upgraded to the Pro version, which unlocked features such as historical data, dark mode, and a battery usage overlay.

Overall, I like this app a lot. If you're curious about how your battery is doing, then the free version might be all you need. If you get hooked, and the ads bother you, then the Pro version is worth considering for the $4 or so I paid for it.

MacroDroid for Android

Editorial standards