One of the most crucial components of any smartphone is the battery, yet Android users have had little insight into its condition and performance over time. They have had to resort to third-party apps or dubious methods to get more information about their battery health.
That could soon change with Android 15, the next major version of the operating system, according to Android expert Mishaal Rahman and Android Authority. He reveals three key points about the upcoming feature, which are (in summary):
- A phone’s battery capacity naturally declines over time;
- Android 15 will provide information on your battery’s remaining capacity;
- The new battery health feature will also indicate if your battery has been replaced.
No matter how well you take care of your device and battery, you will eventually need to replace it. Batteries are not immune to wear and tear, and they lose their maximum charge capacity over time. This results in reduced screen-on-time and erratic battery behavior, such as sudden shutdowns or overheating.
There is hope, however: “Android 14 laid the initial groundwork for the OS to track battery health information, but Android 15 could actually bring that information in front of users”, says Mishaal in his report.
As part of the Pixel Feature Drop for December 2023, there is a new “battery information” page under Settings > About phone. This page displays the manufacture date and cycle count of the device’s battery. These details are obtained through new APIs introduced in Android 14.
But there is more to battery health than that: the date of first use, charging policy, charging status, and state of health. The state of health is especially interesting because it is an estimate of the battery’s current full charge capacity, expressed as a percentage relative to the battery’s rated capacity. For instance, if your Pixel 8 battery’s state of health is measured at 90%, that means its remaining full charge capacity is estimated to be about 4118mAh (compared to the rated 4575mAh).
The Settings app currently does not show the battery state of health – unlike an iPhone – but that is set to change in the future. Google will also expose more battery-related information, such as whether the device has an “unsupported”, “original” or “replaced” battery inside. This could help users identify counterfeit or faulty batteries and avoid potential risks.
The battery health feature is expected to be available for Pixel devices first, and then for other Android devices later. It is unclear when Android 15 will be officially released, but it is likely to be sometime in 2024. Android users can look forward to having more transparency and control over their battery health with this feature.