Battery life is always the weak link in our smartphone-centric world, and you often find yourself baffled by the reasons why your battery drains way too fast one day and then seems to last forever the second day. Android has been trying to remedy that for many and many versions, and the latest Android 8.1 Developer Preview adds one more weapon to your arsenal in the fight against battery drainage. It won't help you win the war, but it will more easily answer the question of which app has been misbehaving and how.

On Android 8.1, if you check the Battery settings, you may see one app highlighted at the top with a red warning battery icon. It'll tell you which app has been draining the battery and how. In the few examples we've seen, Maps Preview and Tile were said to be requesting location frequently, whereas Fenix was keeping the device awake.

Tapping on the message gives you one way to remedy the issue. For example, in the case of Maps Preview you can turn off location for the app... which defeats the purpose, but oh well.

Maybe one day Android will explain to you exactly why your battery has drained quickly, including non-app reasons such as you used Bluetooth for too long or your reception was crappy for most of the day, but for the time being, this is a small step in the right direction.