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How to View Battery Levels for All of Your Devices in One App

Oct 13, 2014 04:49 PM

Battery level indicators for tablet, phone, and laptop.

It's hard enough to keep tabs on the battery life of one device, let alone all of the different gadgets that a typical consumer owns in this day and age. Say your smartphone is running low on juice, so you switch to your tablet only to find out that it's almost dead as well. Better hope your laptop is fully charged, right?

A cross-platform app from developer Paranoid Gems aims to stop the guesswork when it comes to juggling battery life on multiple devices. Simply install the app on your phone, tablet or Windows 8 laptop, and all of your battery info will be viewable from each of your devices.

Install 'Potential' on Your Primary Device

The app that lets you view battery info for all of your devices goes by the name of Potential. It's available for free on the Google Play Store, as well as the Windows Store. To begin, simply install Potential on your primary device.

Potential Beta app screen with options to uninstall or open, developed by Paranoid-Gems.

Create an Account

In order to sync your battery info across all of your devices, you'll need to create an account with Potential. To do this, simply enter your email address, type in a password, then press Create. After that, you'll get a chance to name your current device.

Login screen for a mobile app with fields for email address and password.

Prompt to rename a device on a smartphone with a keyboard displayed.

Install Potential on Your Other Devices

With your first device set up, go ahead and install Potential on your other Android or Windows 8 gadgets. When prompted to log in, use the same account credentials that you created with your first device.

Login screen for a web application with fields for email address and password.

Device setup screen prompting user to name their device.

Again, you'll get the opportunity to name these devices to make things easier to keep track of.

Using Potential

Potential's interface is incredibly simple—it displays the current battery life of all your devices, as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connection statuses. No matter which device you're currently using, open Potential and you'll see the battery info for all of your other devices.

Device status screen displaying connectivity information for a Galaxy S6 and a Nexus 5, including battery levels and connection statuses.

Potential on Nexus 5

Bluetooth settings screen displaying available devices: Galaxy S6 and Nexus 5.

Potential on Galaxy S5

Potential on Nexus 5

Potential on Galaxy S5

As an added benefit, Potential allows you to toggle Wi-Fi on or off for any of your connected devices. If a device's battery is running low, for instance, just tap its Wi-Fi icon to disable the connection and conserve a bit of juice.

Battery status of Galaxy S9 and Nexus 5 devices showing charging and connectivity options.

Wi-Fi toggled from Nexus 5

Wi-Fi notifications on a mobile device screen.

Wi-Fi disabled on Galaxy S5

Wi-Fi toggled from Nexus 5

Wi-Fi disabled on Galaxy S5

With all of your various battery levels now viewable in one app, keeping your gadgets charged and ready to go should be a lot easier. How has Potential helped you manage your battery levels? Let us know in the comments section below, as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

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