Sign in to your Android Police account
Summary
- Smartphone batteries degrade with use, so it is important to know your phone’s battery health for timely replacement.
- Android 16 Beta 3 introduced a new Battery Health menu, but it only supported newer Pixel models.
- Google has now confirmed the Battery Health menu will not be available on the Pixel 8 series and older devices.
Smartphone batteries degrade over time with use, gradually losing their ability to hold as much charge as when they were new. This is why it is important to know your phone’s battery health, so you can get it replaced when it drops below a certain threshold. Apple makes this easy by providing a detailed battery health menu on iPhones and Macs. Google has been working on a similar menu for at least two years now, and it seems the feature will finally go public with Android 16’s public release, but with a big catch.
Related
Google hid the Battery Health menu in the initial beta builds of Android 16 before making it available to public Pixel beta testers with the third beta. However, only Pixel 9 and Pixel 8a users could see the battery capacity and its remaining health. Many users chalked it up to an inadvertent bug on Google’s side. Turns out, that’s not the case.
Replying to the bug report on the Google Issue Tracker, a Google engineer confirmed (via Android Authority) that “the Battery Health Indicator feature is currently supported in Beta 3 on Pixel 8a and Pixel 9 products including 9 Pro Fold. Due to product limitations, this feature will not be available on older in-market Pixel devices.”
It’s puzzling that Google will only support the Battery Health menu on the Pixel 8a while leaving out its more expensive siblings. The feature would make more sense on older devices, which are far more likely to need a replacement cell due to aging. By comparison, Apple allows users to check the battery capacity on iPhones dating back to 2014.
Google is facing battery troubles with older Pixels
Making matters worse, Google has recently faced battery issues on some of its older Pixels. It is currently running a program offering free replacement for swollen batteries on the Pixel 7a. Earlier this year, the company also released a battery-focused update for the Pixel 4a to address stability issues. For users who experienced a significant drop in battery life after the update, the company offered free battery replacements.
Google will hopefully roll out the Battery Health menu officially with the stable release of Android 16 in June. Given the company’s shifting stance on this feature, there’s always a possibility it may again change its mind at the last minute and drop support for even the Pixel 8a.
