Android has been doing a great job with numerous optimization features that improve your battery life without compromising the user experience. One such feature is the upcoming "Adaptive Timeout," which will be released with Android 15 later this year. Let me tell you why I'm excited about it.

What Is Adaptive Timeout?

Adaptive Timeout is a new screen timeout option that turns off your display when you're not using your phone. Instead of the default screen off timer, Adaptive Timeout can theoretically keep your display on for as long or as little as you need it.

Mishaal Rahman from Android Authority found a few bits of code in the Android 15 Developer Preview 2 release that can turn the screen off in March. We now know that this is for Adaptive Timeout, which was released with the recent Android 15 Beta 3 update.

While Google hasn't explained how Adaptive Timeout works, it likely uses your front-facing camera to determine whether you're looking at your screen. Mishaal later commented on Threads that Adaptive Timeout also uses the proximity sensor to see if anything is in front of your phone's display. In other words, if you leave the phone face-down on the table or put it in your pocket, Adaptive Timeout will automatically turn the display off.

Adaptive Timeout Will Preserve Your Screen and Battery

I'm excited about Adaptive Timeout for several reasons. The first is that it'll minimize the amount of OLED burn-in that my phone's display will get. This happens when fixed elements like your clock and network icon spend hundreds of hours in the same state on your screen. So, by turning the display off, the feature will minimize burn-in.

Second, your phone's display is one of the biggest battery hogs, so if you forget to turn it off, you're throwing away precious battery life. If it turns off automatically whenever you aren't using the phone, your battery life will improve instantly. And this is something you won't even need to think about or tinker with.

It could also improve privacy and security in the event that you leave your phone unlocked in a public place and forget about it. Also, since the feature uses the proximity sensor, it could prevent accidental touches when you forget to turn the display off before putting your phone in your pocket.

How to Enable Adaptive Timeout

You'll need Android 15 to enable Adaptive Timeout, which means you could either wait for the official release or install the Android 15 Beta if your phone is eligible. Once you have the Beta, open Settings > Display > Screen Timeout and enable "Adaptive Timeout." I also recommend enabling "Screen Attention" as it'll keep your display on while you look at it.

Interestingly, there's also a third-party app called KinScreen that gives you Adaptive Timeout-like screen timeout features. I'm not a fan of persistent notifications created by third-party apps, so I'll wait for the official release, but the option is there if you want the feature now.