Android smartphone makers have improved their software update policies to support phones for a much longer period. Therefore, phone buyers can keep their devices for a long time before they need to upgrade to newer phones. Devices will get newer features with software updates. However, one of the first phone hardware components to age is the battery, and it's not easy to check battery health on Android. Google is trying to make it easier to check your battery's health so you can know when to replace it once it starts to age.
Google is trying to bring information about battery health to Android
With Android 14, Google created a framework for tracking long-term battery statistics, such as charging cycles and battery manufacturing dates. With the Pixel Features Drop update released in December 2023, Google added a new page titled “Battery Information” to Pixel smartphones running Android 14. It can be accessed from Settings » About the phone » Battery information. like Reported by Android Authority and Mishal RahmanIt displays the manufacturing date and the number of phone battery charging cycles.
The information displayed on this page is obtained through APIs provided with Android 14. Although the battery health percentage is not shown on this page, Google provided it with the Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2 update available for Pixel smartphones and tablets. under Settings » battery » Battery healthUsers can see the estimated battery status percentage. This is the current full charge capacity of the battery compared to the original full charge capacity.
For example, if the phone battery's rated charging capacity is 5000mAh and the current charging capacity is 90%, it can only charge up to 4500mAh if it is charged to 100%. The new page doesn't currently show the actual charging capacity, but Google is testing it, and it could come to Android with the Android 15 update. Samsung could bring the same information to its Galaxy devices with a One UI 7.0 update based on Android 15.
Strings in the relevant code reveal that this page will display “The estimated percentage of charge the battery can currently hold compared to when it was new,“and recalibrate”The process may take a few weeks.The recalibration process would be for the phone to collect enough data after the first power-on to display the battery health status. The Settings app will also display certain messages to let users know that the battery is being calibrated or if it is time to replace the battery.
Google is also said to be providing more battery information for Android, including the serial number and part status. There may be three values: original, replaced, and unsupported. The original states that the battery is what the device was originally charged with. “Replaced” could mean that the device’s original battery has been replaced with a newer one, while “Unsupported” could mean that the phone cannot distinguish between the original battery and a replaced battery. At least some of these new features could be part of Android 15 when it's announced next year.
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