Android 16: Older Pixel models do not get new battery health features

With Android 16, Google integrates a new function, which should provide information about the battery health of pixel smartphones. Now the company explains that only current models will receive the feature.

Thanks to longer update support, smartphones can be used safely for longer. Google and Samsung now promise Android updates and patches for seven years for some models. Over time, however, the battery becomes weaker and the term is shorter.

In order to keep an eye on the battery health of Android smartphones and tablets, Google introduces the “Battery Health) function with the upcoming update to Android 16, which is intended to provide information about the condition of the built -in battery.

Feature fragmentation under Android: Battery sound only for pixel 8a and new

The company with Apple in this area is partly drawing. Because Iphones have long indicated the battery state in the settings, with which you can easily check how the health of the battery is.

In Android 16, the battery health display has been on board since Beta 3. However, some testers irritated that this feature could not be found on all supported pixel devices. It is only available on more recent models such as Pixel 8a or the Pixel 9.

Now it turns out that this is no coincidence: like Reddit user Azmen0 (via Android Authority) in Google’s Has discovered Issue trackerthis is targeted behavior. According to the entry of a Google developer, the function is only supported on Pixel 8a and the Pixel 9 models including the 9 Pro FOLD.

Google does not call specific reasons, it only says: “Due to product restrictions, this function will not be available on older pixel devices on the market”. This means that even Pixel 8 and 8 Pro is denied the function that Google promised for seven years of Android updates and that are better with regard to their general equipment than the 8a.

For classification: The Pixel 8a and the Pixel 9 models were traded in spring and late summer 2024, while the Pixel 8 and 8-Pro versions were introduced in October 2023.

Apple had already introduced a similar function in 2017 and made it available for all iPhone models with iOS-11-compatible iPhone models-even for the iPhone 6 from 2014.