Battery Widget 2.0
DESIGN: I like the design of the widget, but think that it needs updates to provide access to different features such as the sharing feature.
EASE OF USE: The app seems to be easy to install and use, but it's missing key functions.
PRICE: If the app were fully functional, the price is very reasonable -- especially considering the fact that it's a universal app purchase.
FUNCTIONALITY: There are some striking issues with the widget as several of the main features did not function properly when I was testing the app. I took the fact that the app hasn't received an update since the last major OS updates were released into account.
- DESIGN
- EASE OF USE
- PRICE
- FUNCTIONALITY
Battery tracking widget needs some updates to keep up with other products that are available.
Keeping track of battery levels on your primary devices can be difficult at times. I know that I have occasions where I’ll be working on my laptop and listening to music on my phone. During that time, I’m not thinking about the power left on my phone — just my laptop. So, it’s nice to have the ability to view my phone’s battery level using Battery Widget 2.0.
Overview
Battery Widget 2.0 was originally launched in 2021 as ‘Battery Widget’, by Pawan Dixit, an app developer who has been programming for around five years. With it, users can monitor the battery level of any device from any other device that has the app installed. As an example, you can track your Mac’s battery on your iPhone or vice-versa.
The description for the app from the developer’s website reads:
Batteries is designed to do just one thing. That is to track batteries of all your Apple devices from a single app. Once you install batteries app in your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac, all your devices battery level becomes available to every other device. So no matter what device you are on, you can check battery level of any of your devices.
Battery Widget 2.0 was released as an update in June 2022 as a complete redesign. The release notes in the Mac App Store read:
This is Batteries 2.0 release! Written completely from the ground up. With this release you now can share and track your friends and families’ battery levels as well! Batteries 2.0 has reliable syncing, new battery widget interface, low battery notifications, battery sharing from friends and families iCloud accounts, gorgeous and informative battery status icon on Mac. Enjoy!
According to the information provided in the App Store and on the developer’s website, Battery Widget 2.0 uses the tracking technologies built into the devices in order to report the information back to the users.
Privacy Policy
According to the App Store, the developer does not collect any data from Battery Widget 2.0. The full privacy policy can be read here.
Main Features
- Track battery levels of iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac (With the latest release you now can share and track your friends’ and families’ battery levels as well!)
- Shows the charging state of all your devices.
- Low battery notifications from all your devices.
- Supports the latest iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey. Also, fully supports the latest M1 Macs.
- Most up-to-date battery tracker with incredible support.
Pricing and Availability
The app can be purchased for a one-time fee of $4.99. It is a universal app which means that one purchase makes the app available for Mac, iOS, iPad, and Apple Watch.
User Experience
The app was easy to install. Since it’s distributed through the App Store, you simply download it and follow the on-screen prompts. The widget is universal and can be used with all your major Apple devices including the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and MacBook computers. I personally have my iPhone, Apple Watch, and MacBook Air (2020, M1) connected through the widget. According to the version release notes in the App Store (version 1.5 was released 1 year ago), there was supposed to be added functionality for AirPods, but I’ve not seen any of my Apple AirPods (Pro Gen 1, Pro Gen 2, and Max) appear in the widget.
In order to have your battery level appear on your various devices you do have to have the app installed on each device individually. There is no login but users need to be logged into their iCloud account. My first thought about this app was, “What about the Apple native battery utility?” Apple’s native battery utility provides users with the ability to view the battery level for any device that is connected to it via Bluetooth. With the Battery Widget, users are getting the battery level other than the internet.
In one of my screenshots, you will see the difference between the two interfaces that are provided. Batteries Widget gives you two options – the simple interface or the graphical interface. The graphical interface provides the user with an image that represents the device.
As far as accuracy goes, I’ve noticed that the iPhone level and MacBook levels are always correct. There are some issues with the Apple Watch connection though. You will also see in my screenshots that the Apple Watch shows a level of 31% on the Battery Widget 2.0 and a level of 100% on the native Battery widget. The “100%” is the correct level. I had just removed my watch from its charger and I attempted to force the update for the Battery Widget 2.0 but it didn’t update until I opened the app directly on the watch itself. I also noticed that my iPhone’s battery was incorrect several times when I checked it.
Now, one important note here is that the app was last updated on July 12, 2022. That was prior to the last major OS releases for Apple. The release note for the last update reads: Battery Widget fully supports latest iOS 15, iPadOS 15, WatchOS 8, macOS 12 Monterey, and M1 macs. So, I’m unsure if maybe some of the bugs I’m noticing are because of the OS rollouts that occurred in the past month.
Overall, I like the idea of the app, but there are some bugs that need to be worked out — particularly at this point in time.
- The battery tracking doesn’t seem to sync accurately.
- The charging state of devices isn’t shown correctly.
- I don’t see any option to share battery levels with friends and family.
- I would also like to see some tie-ins to Bluetooth-connected devices. The information is connected to the device information so it seems that it could be pulled into the widget along with the battery state and level. For example, if the Apple Pencil is connected to the iPad, then on the widget, there could be a ‘connected device’ segment beneath the iPad to show that the Apple Pencil was connected to the iPad and what its battery levels are.
- I’ve never gotten a low battery notification, which is supposed to according to the developer.
Currently, you will receive battery low notification on your Mac when your iPhone, iPad or Watch reaches below 20%, 15%, 10% or 5%.
Dixit, Pawan. “Introducing Battery Widget 2.0…” Reddit, 10 Jun. 2022, www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/w112o7/introducing_battery_widget_20_an_app_for_people/
Even though it doesn’t directly connect to the way the app works, I do feel the need to make a comment about the developer’s website. To me, this is part of the user experience. I always research products and apps before I use them and that means visiting their website. Dixit’s site – pawan.pro – is horribly laid out. It is responsive, but the information that is included is sparse and disorganized. I hope that maybe the developer will take a little time and apply some modern UI/UX design to his site.
Conclusion
Battery Widget 2.0 is a worthwhile app — once the bugs are worked out for the support of the current operating systems. Right now, I wouldn’t recommend paying for this app over the Apple native battery utilities that are provided on each of the flagship devices.
For more information, visit pawan.pro and Twitter.
1 Comment
Visiting the linked “pawan.pro” website throws an immediate “scary” pop-up about trojan spyware (and the link redirected too many times to count without ending at “pawan.pro”?!
Please review and address as needed.