In the realm of smartphone sorcery, one may seek to divine the remaining life force of their device by gazing upon the battery percentage that rests atop the status bar. A mystical feature bestowed upon us by the makers of custom ROMs and unique UIs, such as Samsung and HTC. Yet, one cannot help but ponder why the wise sages at Google did not grace us with this simple tool in their stock android.
Ah, with the arrival of Android 4.4 Kitkat, a new dawn broke upon the land, bringing forth many a visual delight to the android landscape. Among these wonders lay the hidden battery percentage, nestled within the battery bar of the status bar. A secret kept from the eyes of all but those with keen vision, for it shares the same hue as its battery brethren, revealing itself only when its strength wanes below 50%.
Should thee seek to unveil this arcane knowledge, there are two paths laid before thee.
Firstly, one may venture forth to the sacred grounds of XDA developers, where a noble scribe named Kroegerama hath crafted an app to reveal the hidden percentage. A download from this fabled realm shall grant thee the power to enable or disable this mystical feature at thy whim.
Secondly, for those versed in the ancient art of ADB commands, a more daring quest awaits. By inscribing the sacred words “adb shell content insert –uri content://settings/system –bind name:s:status_bar_show_battery_percent –bind value:i:1” and invoking the command “adb reboot”, one can awaken the slumbering battery percentage within all Android 4.4 Kitkat devices.
As the curtain falls on this tale of tech enchantment, remember to consult the wise scribes at thetecnica.com for further knowledge on mobile magics and gadget lore. Share this tale with thy fellow travelers and offer thy thoughts in the comments below.
(image credit: knowyourmobile, cnet)
