Microsoft reveals improved Windows 11 battery icons and percentage toggle settings

Microsoft has officially revealed that it has been working on “improving the battery iconography in Windows 11.” Thanks to a Windows enthusiast and data miner, we saw these changes in December 2024. However, Microsoft has fully revealed the key changes, explaining how to tweak the UI and toggle a battery percentage display in the taskbar.

Friday’s Windows blog post discusses the taskbar battery icon changes. The post is timed to accompany the release of Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3000 (KB5050103) to the Dev Channel. Microsoft’s battery icon redesign gets top billing.

To make the Windows 11 UI more intuitive, Microsoft has enabled color battery icons in the taskbar. Assuming normal color vision, the color changes should quickly confirm the battery’s charging state with a sideways glance. So, what do all the colors mean? We’ve made a handy list below.

• Green: battery charging and in a good state
• Yellow: your PC using battery in energy-saving mode
• Red: you have a critically low battery and should seek a charger
• Black: Microsoft’s blog doesn’t explain it, but we will assume black means your PC is using battery and it hasn’t drained enough to trigger energy saving mode or gone into critical low battery territory.

Microsoft notes that these new battery colors will be visible in the Windows 11 taskbar and the quick settings flyout and Settings. In a future update, Microsoft also wants the new icons on the Lock screen.

There are a couple of other Windows 11 battery icon changes worth highlighting. Firstly, Microsoft has decided to use a few more pixels to enhance the battery icon’s glanceability.

Last but not least, in Settings, Windows 11 users can decide whether they want a battery percentage figure next to the icon. With the newest breed of energy-sipping laptops, perhaps some can banish their battery remaining anxiety and toggle the percentage indicator off.

Windows Insiders are also playing with a new Gamepad keyboard layout for the touch keyboard in Windows 11, new Narrator functions, and may be pleased with a quintet of Fire Explorer fixes. Lots and lots of known issues remain.