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Power mode: Change based on AC or Battery

The Power mode in the Power section feels a bit useless and cumbersome. I think users should be able to set the power mode for different power states. When on AC it makes sense to prefer "Balanced Power" and when on battery it makes sense to prefer "Power saver". Currently you can still do that, but you have to do it manually. Not only is it inconvenient to do that, you also have to open Gnome Settings then go to the Power section and then change the mode. In Windows you can set the power mode for when on AC and when on Battery. You can also change it ad-hoc when clicking on the battery icon. It is therefore much more convenient to change on Windows than on Gnome. And because it is automatic in Windows, you actually use it.

There should be a separate Power mode for both AC and Battery. Ideally you could also change it when clicking on the battery drop down when clicking in the upper right corner - similar to on Windows.

How it is right now

  1. Open Gnome Settings
  2. Go to Power section
  3. Select Balanced Power or Power saver

power_mode_gnome_settings

The problem with it is that you have to do this manually every time you want to change it. Most often when connected to AC (Plugged in), with a laptop, you want to maximize the performance, since it does not affect the battery. However, when you are off the grid and not connected to AC, you might want to maximize battery life.

Not only is it inconvenient to have to change it manually on the fly. You are also required to open Gnome Settings and go through the whole process each time it has to be changed.

How it should be

  1. Open Gnome Settings
  2. Go to Power section
  3. Select Power mode for when on:
    • Battery
    • AC (Plugged in)

Gnome then has to change the state automatically whenever the laptop changes from being connected to AC (Plugged in) or running on battery power. What it should switch to is up to the user in Gnome Settings.

Additional features

Instead of having to always find the setting in Gnome Settings, then it should also be quickly accessible in the drop down menu in the upper right corner.

How it is currently

power_mode_select

How this should be

I have no drawing, but two buttons above the Power settings button should be available, so that it shows up with these three items (With a dot for the currently selected (similar to having multiple wired connections)):

  • Balanced Power
  • Power Saver
  • Power settings

So when clicking the battery icon (Where it says "Fully charged") in the drop down menu, you would get the list of items shown above.

The one distinct thing between selecting the Power mode in the drop down menu and in the Gnome Settings, should be that the Power mode in the drop down does not save the state for the next time. This means that if you are on battery and have Power save set in Gnome Settings, but select Balanced Power in the drop down, it is only changed until the next time you are on battery.

The Gnome Settings' Power mode therefore acts as the state to automatically switch to every time the power state changes from AC to battery or battery to AC.

The drop down menu Power mode should only override it until the next time the power state changes.

Edited by Troels Blicher Petersen