Microsoft has put the brakes on the rollout of its newly designed battery indicator for Windows 11 Insiders in the Release Preview Channel. This gradual introduction began last week with build 26100.3321, aiming to enhance user experience with a more visually informative battery icon.
Enhanced Visual Feedback
The existing battery indicator has served users for some time, but the recent update sought to inject a splash of color into the experience. Under the new design, a green icon signals that everything is functioning optimally, while yellow indicates that the device has entered power-saving mode. A red icon, on the other hand, serves as a warning that power levels are critically low, suggesting that users connect to a power source promptly.
Additionally, the update introduced a toggle feature that allows users to display the power percentage, mirroring functionalities that have been standard on many mobile devices for years. While various OEMs and third-party applications have provided alternative methods to reveal this information without hovering over the battery icon, the desire for a native solution has been a long-standing request from Windows users.
As anticipation grew among users eager for this enhancement, Microsoft unexpectedly announced a halt to the rollout “to address some issues.” Although the company did not specify the nature of these issues, the abrupt withdrawal of a much-anticipated feature has left many feeling disappointed. Microsoft has reassured users that it plans to resume the rollout in a future update.
Despite the setback with the battery icon, other features, such as the ability to gather more information about background images or elements displayed on the lock screen, remain unaffected. However, the colorful battery icon and the accompanying percentage display are currently on hold.
In the interim, inquiries regarding the specific issues encountered have gone unanswered by Microsoft. In a light-hearted attempt to assist, we even consulted Copilot for some code examples in Rust and C++, which we would be more than willing to share with the Windows team if needed.
