14 DAY TRIAL // Battery drain is a constant issue, regardless of factors like phone usage or battery capacity. In fact, it’s one of the reasons some people choose to upgrade their handsets and get new ones with a larger battery. But Sony has taken battery life into consideration and released a new feature to Marshmallow AOSP beta firmware, called Soft Charging.
The new Soft Charging feature doesn’t actually charge smartphones faster, which may seem the opposite of what users want. Many smartphone manufacturers try to equip their products with high capacity batteries, while also offering some fast charging solutions and features.
Sony has decided to go in the completely opposite direction and provide users with a feature that would actually charge their phones more slowly, which means the device would need to stay plugged in for longer than before, according to Xperia Blog.
This could actually represent good news, considering that battery life is affected by the charging speed, and there have been reports of smartphone batteries that got bloated during the charging process.
The new feature will be available in the Marshmallow AOSP beta firmware for the Xperia Z2 and Z3. The Soft Charging feature is represented by a simple on/off toggle that will keep the battery’s temperate down and should help extend battery life.
The update to 23.5.A.1.238 will include the latest Xperia Home launcher and should roll out in the next few days.