Google Is Adding a Battery Health Menu to the Pixel 8a, but Not the Pixel 8 Pro
Google has confirmed that its new Battery Health menu, first seen in Android 16 Beta 3, will only be available on the latest Pixel 9 series and the last released Pixel 8 device, the Pixel 8a, as reported by Android Authority.
The company says that this tool will not be available on older Pixel devices, including the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro—which were released just a few months before the Pixel 8a and are flagship-level phones, unlike the 8a. This means that users of these earlier models will not be able to check their battery's health using Google's own system.
The Battery Health menu can be found in the Settings app on supported devices, given that they are running the latest Android 16 beta. As the name suggests, it gives users information about their phone's current battery capacity as a percentage of its original level.
It also gives tips for extending battery life, such as turning on Adaptive Charging or limiting the maximum charge to 80%. This tool has been a standard part of iPhones since 2018, even on older models like the iPhone 6, but Google's version will only be available on its newest hardware.
Overall, Google made a bad move. I hope they implement it soon, or at least specify exactly why the feature works in the budget device but not the flagships.
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