The Android 16 update introduces “Battery health,” though specific functionality depends on what Pixel phone you have.
Battery health
All devices (Pixel 6+) get a “Battery health” menu in Settings app > Battery with Android 16. It lists help articles, like “Avoid extreme temperatures,” under a dropdown, and moves “Charging optimization” — off, Adaptive Charging, or Limit to 80% — to the bottom of this page from the main menu.
Battery capacity
On the Pixel 8a (2024) and newer, you get “Battery capacity” as an “estimated percentage of charge the battery can currently hold compared to a new standard battery.” This is accompanied by an icon and status:
- Normal: Battery capacity is within normal limits.
- Reduced: Battery reached capacity is below 80%. Google says to “consider a battery replacement.”
- Unavailable: Can’t determine your battery status.
This is meant to serve as an indicator of when to replace your battery, especially with devices getting 7 years of updates. Battery capacity percentage is not available on the Pixel 8 Pro and older devices.
Battery health assistance
Additionally, there’s Battery health assistance, which is officially “available on Pixel 6a and later.” After updating to Android 16 (and a server-side update), you might get a system notification about it.
Battery health assistance is designed to “help manage your battery’s long term health and performance,” with Google first talking about in March with its 2025 Pixel mid-ranger. It works by adjusting the “battery’s maximum voltage in stages that start at 200 charge cycles and continue gradually until 1000 charge cycles to help stabilize battery performance and aging.” Google will also “tune the phone’s charging speed based on adjusted capacity.”
In short, “you may notice slight changes in charging performance and battery capacity” (or how long it lasts between charges) as the battery ages.
On the Pixel 9a (and future devices), it’s enabled by default and cannot be turned off. For all other phones, it’s enabled by default, but can be disabled from Settings > Battery > Battery health > Battery health assistance.
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