How To: Keep Better Track of Your Battery Life on the Nexus 7

There were some pretty amazing things included in the Android 4.4 KitKat update, but unfortunately, most of them were left inactive on our Nexus 7 tablets. Some, like full-screen immersive mode and the hidden battery percentage status bar icon, could be enabled on rooted devices, but not everyone wants to root.

The battery percentage is a no-brainer to include on all Nexus devices, but since it's not, we've got an easy way for all of you non-rooters to keep track of your battery's exact percentage left. Plus, it looks freakin' awesome—a lot better than a stupid status bar icon.

Step 1: Grab the App

Thanks to dev Oliver Geith, just head to Google Play and grab Battery LiveWallpaer for free.

There is an available in-app purchase for the Premium version that has even more styles and additional options. Both versions are ad-free. Right now, the Premium version is mainly your way to support the developer a bit as he works on it. Most, if not all, of the pro features will eventually make their way to the free version when he sees fit.

Step 2: Make It Your Wallpaper

After you've successfully installed the app, hold down on your home screen to bring up the wallpaper options. Scroll and locate Battery LWP, then tap on Settings to customize.

There are extensive options when it comes to personalizing your battery, but we'll go over the main ones, like changing the style and wallpaper.

Step 3: Change the Battery Style

Select Battery Style to change not only the style which your battery life is displayed as, but also the pointer color.

There two main styles of displaying the battery, circular or bar graph, each of which look great amongst their multiple variations.

Go back to the main settings menu and select Global Battery Options. These options are extensive, allowing you to tweak out the battery life colors and indicators. Other options include animations between battery levels and gradients.

Step 4: Change the Background Wallpaper

Lastly, go back once more to the main settings and select Wallpaper Background to adjust wallpaper picture and colors. Personally, enabling the gradient background is the most aesthetically pleasing, but play around with the settings to find your favorite.

The live wallpaper also looks great in landscape mode on the Nexus 7.

After all the changes are made, just press the Home softkey to apply and preview. It's a pretty basic application that offers a high level of customization as well as the ability to accurately monitor your battery life. Win-win!

Want some other cool mods for your tablet? Add some thumb-friendly quick settings to your home screen, make a personalized lock screen clock, or run multiple apps at the same time.