GOOGLE Pixel phones will soon be equipped with a tool that preserves battery life – and users can’t contain their excitement.
The tech giant is developing a feature that will extend your battery’s lifespan.
Lithium batteries are under the most strain when fully charged, so experts generally encourage charging them to 80%.
And a forthcoming Android 15 feature will do just that.
Adaptive Charging was included among a slew of updates in the December 2020 Pixel Feature Drop.
It would maintain an 80% charge and increase it to 100% before a scheduled alarm went off.
The feature was updated last year to follow a user’s charging habits rather than their alarms, making it less dependent on sleep schedule.
And it seems another update is on the horizon.
Strings of code in the latest Android 15 Beta 4 update provide clues about the forthcoming battery optimization feature.
These include a notification encouraging users to “try turning on the 80% limit feature to protect battery health and lifespan.”
A page for the tool will be located under “Battery” in “Settings” and will include a toggle to “use charging optimization.”
Users can select between “Adaptive Charging” mode, which gradually charges the device to 100%, or the new “limit to 80%” feature.
The coming update has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from Pixel owners, with many taking to Reddit to express their excitement.
“I know it’s not terrible for the battery to be charged to 100%, but it’s also not ideal and does shorten its life somewhat,” one user wrote.
“For those of us who often don’t need the phone charged to 100% and are kind of obsessed about maximizing the useful life of the battery, I’ve been waiting for this for so long.”
Another user shared he had previously relied on an application to maximize battery longevity.
“I guess soon I won’t have to!” the user proclaimed. “This is the feature I’m looking forward to in Android 15.”
Other Redditors praised the tool’s utility even if it wasn’t their cup of tea.
“I probably wouldn’t make much use of this myself, but I fully embrace tools made for people to try to extend the longevity of their devices,” one user professed.
Here are the key dates...
Google is expected to deploy the update with the first Android 15 quarterly platform release at the end of 2024.
And insiders say the 80% limit may be the first in a series of changes.
Google is expected to add more manual charging limit options to keep up with its competitors.
Apple included a similar update in the iOS 18 beta, allowing users to select from more options than just 100% and 80%.
