You can more easily select different power modes for your PC when it is plugged in than when it is on battery. On Thursday, Microsoft released Windows 11 Build 27686 in the Canary channel, its long-lead preview channel for Windows Insiders. Though the company's announcement primarily focuses on a new Windows Sandbox Client Preview and bumping the FAT32 disk formatting limit from 32GB to 2TB, a sneakier feature tacked on Friday makes changing your PC's power mode defaults easier. Setting a specific power mode for when your PC is plugged in or on battery currently requires a trip to the Control Panel, but Build 27686 adds those options to Settings.
In an update to last week's blog post, Microsoft wrote that it's "beginning to roll out improvements to Settings > System > Power & battery," including separate power mode options for when a PC is charging or running on battery. (Microsoft also claims to be bringing a few UI updates to the page, but it didn't name anything specific.) Build 27686 tucks two new drop-down menus into the Power & Battery page under the Power Mode header. One drop-down allows you to select a default power mode for your PC while plugged in; the other lets you set a default power mode for when your PC is using its own juice.
Windows 11 users can only set different charging and battery power modes in the Control Panel. Accessing the Control Panel is a little more tedious than opening Settings, and once you get there, you still have to open another menu (Change Plan Settings) to change the PC's plugged-in versus battery defaults. You must individually set defaults for your desktop wallpaper, display brightness, and more, then save them to create a customized power plan. Without this, Windows 11 automatically adjusts how your PC utilizes power.
Adding plugged-in and battery power mode options to Settings makes it easier for users to conserve energy on the go and maximize performance while plugged in. Better yet, it begins to bridge an irritating gap between what Windows 11 is supposed to be and what it is. While Windows 11 boasts a shiny exterior, certain settings are still buried in the Windows 7-style Control Panel, which makes for a confusing and inconsistent user experience. Though we can't know whether the features seen in Windows 11 Build 27686 will correspond with any broad-scale Windows 11 update, shifting some of those Control Panel settings over to the actual Settings menu is long overdue.
Via extremetech/ pic google
