Google has hinted at a devoted Battery Well being menu since Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2, greater than two years in the past — and now the function is lastly obtainable for choose customers on Android 16 Beta 3. That’s nice information, however solely in case you have one of the vital current Pixel fashions. The function is just coming to the Pixel 9 collection and the Pixel 8a; even the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional (launched in late 2023) are ineligible.
Google confirmed this in an situation tracker thread: “The Battery Well being Indicator function is at present supported in Beta 3 on Pixel 8a and Pixel 9 merchandise together with 9 Professional Fold. As a consequence of product limitations, this function is not going to be obtainable on older in-market Pixel gadgets.”
It seems that solely gadgets launched in 2024 or later will work with this function, though Google hasn’t said a transparent purpose why. Followers speculate the “product limitations” talked about within the thread may check with an incapacity to tug battery cycle counts from older fashions. The reasoning continues to be cloudy, particularly because the Pixel 8 and the Pixel 8a have basically the identical battery sort (lithium-ion), simply of barely totally different capacities.
Each the Pixel 8 and 8a have the identical Tensor G3 chip, too. From a {hardware} perspective, there’s little distinction between the 2 gadgets, so Google’s determination to solely convey the function to the Pixel 8a has left some followers incensed. One person on Reddit mentioned the function had beforehand labored in an earlier beta: “[Pixel] 6 Professional right here. It labored in a beta earlier than then they mentioned it was solely meant for 8a.”
For reference, the Apple iPhone has had a Battery Well being function since 2017, and it retroactively utilized to gadgets way back to 2014 (together with the iPhone 6).
This restriction may change sooner or later; the Battery Well being menu is just obtainable to anybody collaborating within the Android 16 Beta 3, so it hasn’t been launched to the general public but. As soon as Android 16 is extensively launched (scheduled for Q2 2025), this function will probably apply to all gadgets working the OS. Google may announce extra at Google I/O 2025.
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