App turns Galaxy S10 camera cutout into battery status (Update: Note 10, too!)

Update, September 3, 2019 (04:00 PM ET): The app described below now works on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 family of smartphones. You’ll need to install a different version of the app-specific for Note 10 phones, though. The app is free.

To get the Note 10 variant of Energy Ring, click the button below. If you’re looking for the Samsung Galaxy S10 version, scroll a bit further down into the original article.

Original article, March 25, 2019 (04:33 PM ET): Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen clever people make clever wallpapers that hide the Samsung Galaxy S10 series’ hole punch selfie cameras. Spotted by Android Police, we now have an app that doesn’t hide and makes use of the selfie hole punch.

Called Energy Ring, the app puts a battery indicator around the selfie camera. You can change the color and thickness of the battery indicator, along with the direction — the ring can go clockwise, counter-clockwise, and bidirectional.

You can even auto-hide the battery indicator in full-screen apps, set a charging animation, and change the color for different segments of the battery indicator. That means you can have one color when the battery reaches 75 percent and another color when it reaches 50 percent.

The developer notes that Energy Ring needs notification access in order for it to work. However, the developer also notes that the app doesn’t read your notifications and doesn’t access anything on your phone.

Energy Ring is available as a free download, though it features in-app purchases that unlock different customizations. According to the developer, the app shouldn’t cause much or any battery drain due to the little stress it puts on the CPU.

For the time being, Energy Ring only works on the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10e. Support for the Galaxy S10 Plus is coming soon.