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Android 15 may add a new option for screen timeout settings. Code strings spotted in the second Developer Preview (DP2) released last month hint at an “adaptive timeout” setting that automatically turns off the screen when the device is not in use. The feature isn’t live on DP2 but Google could add it to the next build.
Android 15 may automatically turn off the screen when not in use
Android OS offers several options for screen timeout settings. By default, the screen is turned off after 30 seconds of inactivity and the device is locked five seconds later. Depending on the device, you can set screen timeout to as high as 30 minutes of inactivity, with a lower limit of just 15 seconds. Some OEMs also offer the ability to customize how long the device stays unlocked after the screen goes off.
Additionally, you get a toggle to keep the screen on as long as you are looking at it, even beyond your existing timeout duration without any activity. The feature uses your phone’s front camera to detect if you are staring at the screen. The new “adaptive timeout” feature will seemingly work the other way around. It will check whether someone is looking at the screen; if not, it will turn off the screen.
Spotted by Android expert Mishaal Rahman, the new setting “automatically turns off your screen early if you’re not using your device.” Say, you have set the screen timeout at two minutes. Currently, the screen will remain on for two minutes even when not in use. This unnecessarily drains the battery. Google aims to address this issue with the new feature. It automatically turns off the screen when you aren’t using it.
The strings and descriptions spotted in Android 15 DP2 don’t detail how Google plans to detect whether someone is looking at the screen. It will likely use the front camera or other sensors on the device to determine that. The feature is currently in development. More details may be available in due course. The first public beta build of Android 15 is scheduled to arrive sometime this month.
Android 15’s adaptive screen timeout may be Pixel-exclusive
These code strings were found in the settings app of Android 15 DP2 and belong to “classes under the com.google.* namespace.” This suggests Google won’t make the adaptive timeout feature part of the open-source version of Android (AOSP). Instead, it could keep the feature exclusive to Pixel devices. Screen attention also isn’t available in AOSP out of the box, so that makes sense. Stay tuned for more on Android 15.