Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Android 16 Beta 3 introduces a new battery health screen.
- Here the operating system attempts to estimate how current battery capacity compares to when the phone was new.
- Users can access resources to educate them about improving battery endurance.
A long time ago, if you had a smartphone and its battery was giving you problems, all you had to do was pop your phone’s rear panel off, pull out the unruly battery, and swap in a replacement. These days, we’re more or less stuck with the same battery for the long haul, so it shouldn’t be too surprising to witness companies pay increasing attention to battery health, helping to extend the longevity of these sensitive components. With today’s release of Android 16 Beta 3, we’re seeing Google deliver its latest tool in this arsenal.
Google has already implemented battery-preserving features like Adaptive Charging or the 80% charging limit for Pixel phones. For a while, it’s looked like the company was also developing a new battery health screen, and we got an early preview at how that was coming together in last month’s Android 16 Beta 2. While it wasn’t yet publicly accessible at the time, battery health has finally surfaced in Beta 3.
Much more than just letting you change charging behavior and hoping for the best, this new screen attempts to quantify exactly how well your phone’s battery is doing. All chemical batteries are going to degrade in time, but with actionable feedback from a tool like this, you’ll be empowered to make smart decisions about how to manage your phone’s charge.
If you still don’t feel like you have your head around this whole “battery health” business, Google’s also offering some helpful links to hopefully make this start feeling a little less like witchcraft, and educate you about taking a holistic view towards battery capacity.
Of course, information like this can also be a source of anxiety, and we’ll be very curious to see how users react to having this kind of data at their ready disposal. Will doom-and-gloom types be counting along as their battery capacity gives up the ghost a little more with each charge? Is this just going to fuel a fresh wave of warranty claims? With Android 16 nearing its stable release, we’ll be finding out in due time.
