Android P feature spotlight: Location accuracy is now a binary setting, battery saving mode is gone
Android P keeps on unveiling more and more of its hidden enhancements, and most of these have been relatively positive so far. This one, however, leaves me with my eyebrows raised a little. The location accuracy setting is now a binary choice of on/off, and it essentially removed the "battery saving" mode.
In Android Oreo (and many versions before it), the location settings screen had a Mode option on top, which unveiled three options: High accuracy (GPS + WiFi + Bluetooth + mobile networks), Battery saving (WiFi + Bluetooth + mobile networks, but no battery-sucking GPS), and Device only (GPS). Check them out in these screenshots:
In Android P's first developer preview, things have changed a little. The Mode option is gone, it's now replaced by a Location accuracy setting at the bottom, and it's now an on/off state. On means WiFi + mobile networks are used in conjunction with GPS (previously High accuracy), and off means only GPS is used (previously Device only). There's no equivalent to Battery saving, so you can't turn off the GPS and rely on quasi-accurate location without sucking down your battery.
The change does seem like it simplifies things for developers and users alike. I keep High accuracy selected on my devices, mostly because I know that the apps I use don't call upon the GPS unless they're open and in need of an accurate location, but I wonder if some of you prefer Battery saving mode and whether or not this change makes sense to you.
- Thanks:
- Jordi Gordillo Ramos
