OneDrive desktop client getting 'battery saver' improvements and more

By Dan Thorp-Lancaster
last updated

Say hello to improved battery life and more with OneDrive's latest round of updates.

Microsoft this week announced (opens in new tab) a new set of updates for the OneDrive desktop client that are due out later this month. All told, there are three major areas of focus here, ranging from improving battery life to modernizing the Activity Center (via MSPU).

Here's a look at what's coming:

  • Battery life: OneDrive will now automatically pause syncing when it detects that your Windows machine has switched to "battery saver" mode. You'll see a toast notification alerting you that syncing has paused, but you can override the feature by telling it to sync anyway.
  • Feedback: You can now easily send feedback on OneDrive via a new option in the settings menu. You'll be able to choose from three options, whether you like something, don't like something, or just have a suggestion about how OneDrive can improve.
  • Activity Center: Microsoft has "modernized" Activity center in order to "improve ease of use and understanding."

OneDrive Activity Center

As for availability, Microsoft says that all three of these updates will roll out throughout July.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster
Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. 

13 Comments
  • They'll make it secure sometime too. E.g. if you share a folder with someone then a PUBLIC link accessible by ANYONE is created and emailed in an unsecured email. You cannot see accesses to that link so anyone else in the world can look at your files when you think you share them with a specific person.
  • You can easily restrict the link to one person or a group by requiring them to log in
  • The feature you describe (sharing a link) is working exactly as designed. If you want to share something securely, you must grant access using an email address instead.
  • Nice example. Any other that is actually a flaw?
  • I got this last week. For some reason they made it look HUGE with HUGE buttons on my 4K monitor in desktopmode. Why does every program start to look like oversized toys in desktop mode. I understand touch needs bigger controls but it needs to resize in desktop mode to normal old skool controls
  • Hi there atoqir, I am an engineer on the OneDrive team. And I wanted to see "how big" the Activity Center was appearing on your monitor. Yes, the buttons did get bigger, but I want to help quantify your comment about it being huge. The Activity Center will normally size itself to be about 360x640, but scaled up based on your display settings. Right click on desktop, select display settings at bottom of menu. There's a box called "Scale and Layout" that is often set higher than 100% for high-res and 4k displays. So if it is set at 200%, the AC will be 720x1280. If it's set at 150%, the AC will be 540x960 or so. (Picture here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!An6Z15n9T08bg496jey25d_OWU09mA) If you'd like, you can share a screen shot of your 4k desktop with the AC open and I can tell you if it's getting sized correctly.
  • I wish we had more control of how many files get uploaded/downloaded at once and which type of files or filesizes get done first. That and the moving of the Quit menu into the popup itself seemed a bit backwards and more inconvenient.
  • "OneDrive desktop client getting 'battery saver' improvements and more". My Desktop doesn't have a battery, unfortunately. :(
  • It would be helpful to those who use a UPS and laptops / 2in1s.
  • Will be posting on feedback for sure about updating the look of the flyout to that of the other system tray menu's (battery, network...). It really stands out in a negative way and has a feel it's not even a MSFT product.
  • Or I guess it's because it's the Office UI look... At least put a possible dark theme to it :)
  • They need to fix the mobile app so that it only shows pictures in the pictures folder. Tried using it on iPhone and had thousands of junk there because I backed up my OEM drivers to my OneDrive. Desktop site works well. Photos app can restrict to pictures. Mobiles apps unusable because it mixes all of this junk with your actual photos from the pictures folder. Literally unusable.
  • Don't you have a Camera Roll folder?