Google has introduced a new system in the Google Play Store that warns users about apps that consume too much battery power. The company is rolling out a new “Excessive Partial Wake Lock” metric to help developers identify background processes that are draining battery life.
The feature was developed in collaboration with Samsung and refined through developer feedback during its beta phase last year. It is now officially available to all developers through Android Vitals, providing detailed insights into how apps use wake locks during user sessions.
Google has also started implementing technical wake lock quality standards to improve battery efficiency on Android devices.
Apps that exceed the excessive partial wake block threshold may face several consequences in the Play Store, including:
- Warnings appear in the Play Store list.
- Reduced visibility into discovery features like recommendations
- Inclusion in Android Vitals performance metrics along with crashes and ANRs (app not responding errors)
This move aims to push developers to optimize background processes and prevent unnecessary battery drain.
Google has defined a clear threshold for identifying problematic apps.
An application may be flagged if:
- A partial block of non-excluded wakefulness is maintained for an average of 2 hours or more
- The device screen remains off
- The behavior occurs in more than 5% of user sessions over the past 28 days
However, some wake blocks are exempt if they are related to legitimate user-directed activities such as:
- Audio playback
- Location access
- User initiated uploads or downloads
Key guidelines for developers
To help developers optimize apps and avoid penalties, Google has provided some best practices.
Efficient wake block management
- Foreground services keep applications active for user-visible tasks, but do not prevent the CPU from sleeping.
- Partial wake blockers should only be used when necessary.
Monitoring tools
- Developers can identify problematic wake blocks through the Android Vitals dashboard.
- Unknown wake locks can be analyzed using System Trace and Perfetto UI.
Optimize background tasks
- Use WorkManager for background synchronization tasks.
- Monitor worker stop reasons to prevent configuration issues.
Improve SDK usage
- Optimize or replace inefficient third-party SDKs that cause unnecessary wake blocks.
Better system APIs
- Use the UIDT API for user-initiated uploads or downloads without manually managing wake locks.
- Use companion device APIs for Bluetooth tasks and enable wake lock only during active operations.
Reduce CPU wakeup
- Use the sensor cluster, logging API, or Health Connect for high-frequency sensor monitoring.
- Prefer Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) for remote messaging.
Availability
The new battery quality enforcement system is rolling out gradually to the Google Play Store.
Developers can access full instructions and tools through Android Vitals, along with up-to-date documentation for wake lock optimization.
By adopting these recommendations, developers can:
- Reduce unnecessary wake blocks
- Improve battery efficiency
- Maintain compliance with Android Vitals standards
- Provide a better user experience
Google says it will continue to collect feedback through its documentation survey to further improve these guidelines and help developers improve app performance on Android devices.
