From "Edgeless Displays" without physical buttons to wrap-around panels boasting a whopping 180.6% screen-to-body ratio, smartphone manufacturers have tried to push the limits in the war on bezels. Putting aside those futuristic concept phones, notches and pop-up cameras are indeed useful to present a near bezel-less experience. The hole-punch design is another viable alternative to maximize the screen space, but the camera cutouts are not everyone’s piece of cake. Instead of hiding the punch hole(s), a handful of third-party apps can actually utilize the cutout in rather innovative ways. Energy Ring by XDA Recognized Developer jagan2, for example, can turn the area around the camera hole into a battery indicator.

Energy Ring was originally made available for the Samsung Galaxy S10 lineup and later came out for a bunch of other Samsung phones, including the Galaxy S20 series. The OnePlus 8/8 Pro recently became a part of the list of compatible devices as the first non-Samsung entry, and the developer has already expanded the list since then. The latest version of Energy Ring, tagged as ER_GEN_1.9, now supports the newly released Motorola Edge and Edge+, as well as the Redmi Note 9S (which itself is the global version of the Redmi Note 9 Pro). The list doesn't end there - the Vivo iQOO 3 5G, Mi 10/Mi 10 Pro, Motorola One Vision and One Action, Honor 20 and Honor View 20, Huawei P40 Lite, and the Realme 6 have also made it to the roster.

The device-specific feedback and discussion threads are listed below. Note that the developer hasn't created forum threads for feedback on Energy Ring for the Redmi Note 9S and Huawei P40 Lite as of yet.

According to the developer, there is a very minimal effect on CPU and battery while using the app. Users can choose colors based on battery level and define the direction of depletion out of the box, but adding gradients or having multi-colored rings can be achieved only after in-app purchases.

[appbox googleplay "you.in.spark.energy.ring.gen"]