It’s a day of tricks or treats, and Hammerhead’s latest update looks pretty tasty if battery life is a concern. Calling it the first major update to the new Karoo (aka Karoo 3), the computer gets an expanded Battery Save Mode to stretch its juice.
It’s important to note that downloading the update will not instantly grant you with 35+ hours of battery life. Under the default mode, you’ll still see about 15+ hours with standard use.
With this update, riders will be able to choose between three different battery states:
- Default Ride Mode (15+ hours of battery in standard use cases)
- Battery Save Mode (30+ hours of battery)
- Advanced Battery Savers (35+ hours of battery)
If you select Battery Save Mode, this will boost battery life to a claimed 30+ hours. This mode automatically turns off and on the screen, having it illuminate only when you need it (turn-by-turn direction cues, alerts, etc.). When these alerts happen, the screen turns on for 35 seconds, then turns back on and you can customize when it turns on. Also, in this mode, screen brightness is limited to 45%.
If you add the Advanced Battery Savers to the Battery Save Mode, that’s when you can see upwards of 35+ hours. Those options seem to include a slower processing option and an additional max brightness reduction setting. The slower processor setting will likely slow down the responsiveness of the computer, but it will still function to record your ride and give you directions.
Battery Save Mode:
- Use Karoo’s Battery Save Mode to automatically turn the screen off – it will turn back on when you need it most (e.g. Turn cues, CLIMBER alerts)
- By default, the screen will remain on for 35 seconds after an event. Riders can customize the timer in their Battery Save settings menu
- Riders can customize which events trigger the screen on. Customize ‘Screen on Triggers’ in Battery Save Settings
- By default, using Battery Save Mode will cap your max screen brightness at 45%.
- Store Battery Save Mode settings within ride profiles for easy access, or configureon-the-fly
Battery Save Mode with Advanced Battery Savers:
- Get more out of Karoo by configuring additional Advanced Battery Saver settings
- Cap Max Brightness in Advanced Battery Saver settings for more battery life
- Set your preferred maximum screen brightness to save additional battery when usingBattery Save Mode
- Now enable ‘Slower processing’. Turning ON ‘Slower processing’ will slow down theCPU and processing speed of your Karoo to save battery. To turn on this feature, click into the “Advanced Battery Saver” menu
It’s nice that these are optional settings since it will allow those who aren’t going to be riding their bike for 30+ hours at a time to have a fast, bright computer. But for those that need it, this seems like a great way to get a very functional computer with extra battery life.
The update is free to download, and new Hammerhead Karoo computers are priced at $474.99.
