If you recently spotted a leaf symbol inside the battery icon on your Samsung phone and you don’t know what this symbol means or how to remove it, don’t panic. The indicator does not suggest a battery health or charging issue. Instead, the leaf symbol has a much simpler explanation. This is a visual indicator telling the user that the phone’s power saving mode is enabled on the handset.
The battery saver feature is not unique to Galaxy phones, as iPhone models and other Android devices support it. Enabling power saving mode can help extend battery life in situations where you don’t have time to charge the phone or when a charger or power bank is not available. When power saving mode is enabled, several features are limited to extend the life of the phone, including processor speed. The leaf indicator next to the battery is a constant reminder that power saving mode is on and helps explain why certain phone functions are disabled or why the phone may seem slower than usual.
The leaf symbol can be confusing, even for longtime Galaxy phone owners, because Samsung hasn’t always used this icon to indicate that power saving mode has been activated. A support document from late 2022 explains the different indicator icons that may appear on a Galaxy phone. For power saving mode, Samsung has used a recycling symbol on the battery icon. About two years later, Samsung began rolling out the One UI 7.0 beta to the Galaxy S24 series, which received some of the first Android 15 features Samsung was testing. Among these features was the new leaf indicator, which users would see at the top of the screen but also in the Quick Settings panel, where the power saving mode switch uses a battery icon with a leaf.
What is the effect of power saving mode on the phone
Galaxy phone users can customize the Power Saving Mode feature. For example, the Standard setting on Galaxy Z Flip 6 in Android 16 (One UI 8.5), which is enabled by default, will limit CPU speed to 70%, disable Always On Display, decrease screen brightness by 10%, set Smooth Motion to Standard, enable Dark Mode, and set Screen Timeout to 30 seconds. Each of these settings has toggles that allow users to customize their power-saving mode experience. Users may want to reduce the display’s power consumption by disabling some of its features, while still allowing the processor to run at full power. Additionally, the Settings page informs users that power saving mode will also limit background network usage, syncing, and location access.
There’s also a maximum setting for power saving mode, which will limit all background activity and notifications except for a main set of apps, such as Messages, Phone, and Wallet. Users can customize the list of apps allowed to receive notifications and perform background tasks by enabling or disabling a toggle in the Settings page for this mode.
Galaxy phones will also offer battery life estimates. For example, in our testing, a rarely used Galaxy Z Flip 6 with an 80 percent battery charge reported that it would last three days and nine hours with power saving mode turned off. After enabling power saving mode (standard), the battery life estimate increased to four days. With the power saving mode set to Maximum, the estimate was significantly higher, reaching eight days and 15 hours. Your mileage may vary depending on how heavily you use your phone, but these numbers indicate that Samsung’s power saving mode can actually extend battery life.
How to turn off power saving mode
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The leaf symbol will remain visible in the battery icon for as long as power saving mode is enabled on a handset. Charging the Galaxy phone to 100% will not automatically disable the feature. In comparison, an iPhone with Low Power Mode enabled (which turns the battery indicator yellow) will automatically turn off the mode when the battery reaches 80%. In other words, to remove the leaf icon, you need to turn off the power saving mode on the handset. This can be done in two ways.
The easiest method is to open the phone’s Quick Settings panel by swiping down from the top of the screen and tapping the Power Saving Mode button, which has a battery with a sheet on it. If you accidentally turned on power saving mode and are wondering why the leaf symbol appears next to the battery, you may have pressed this toggle by mistake. You can also go to the Settings app, find the Battery menu, and then find the Power Saving menu (image above). Use the toggle next to it to enable or disable the feature. Tap the “Power Saving” text to customize the feature settings mentioned above, including Standard and Maximum modes.
Some Galaxy phones may have an adaptive power saving mode feature that allows the phone to adjust power consumption based on user habits. This is another way to potentially extend battery life, without necessarily turning power saving mode on or off. Finally, the Modes & Routines menu in the Settings app can help users create automations to activate battery-saving settings at specific times, such as at night.
