Windows 11 update: New colourful battery icons for users

Microsoft has simplified overlays, like lightning bolt charging icon, so that they won’t block icon’s progress bar and much more
An undated image showing colour update of battery icon. — Microsoft
An undated image showing colour update of battery icon. — Microsoft

Microsoft rolled out a new Windows 11 Insider Preview Build with some welcome advancements to the operating system’s battery icon. This may have prevented you from realising that you’ve selected a dead outlet.

Windows’ battery icon, which has traditionally been black, is being updated with three colours “designed to communicate battery status of your PC with just a glance.”

A green icon will show your computer is charging and “in a good state,” but will turn yellow when your battery has dropped below 20% charge and has entered energy saving mode. A red icon indicates you have a “critically low battery” and will need to plug in your computer as soon as possible before it dies.

The new upgraded coloured battery icons will be displayed on the taskbar’s system tray, in the quick settings flyout, and in the general Windows Settings. Microsoft said that they’ll also eventually be used on the Lock screen, but that functionality is coming in a future build.

Microsoft has simplified overlays, like the lightning bolt charging icon, so that they won’t block the icon’s progress bar, and integrated the ability to display the battery’s charge percentage next to the icon in the system tray. It can be enabled by going to Settings > Power & battery and turning on the new “Battery Percentage” setting.

Microsoft stated this is a “highly requested feature by Insiders and customers” and it should be a welcome upgrade over the battery icon Windows currently uses that provides minimal information and a vague representation of a battery’s remaining charge.

The battery icon updates are already available to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel who have opted to get the latest updates as soon as they’re available. Microsoft says the “experience isn’t available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback before pushing it out to everyone.”