The older Pixel phones could be left behind as a new Android 16 feature to newer Google devices.
Google seems to be set to deploy a highly anticipated battery health menu as part of Android 16 for Pixel smartphones – but only those published in the past year.
The new Battery Health menu has arisen in the Android code for some time now, before appearing in its entirety as part of the Android 16 Beta 3.
It promises to offer practical ventilation of the battery quantity of a degraded phone with use and time – an installation that the Apple iPhone range has been offering for years.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Asked about the Google number tracker why this feature does not appear on older pixel devices – and by “ older '', we mean until and including the Google Pixel 8 Pro, launched at the end of 2023 – A Google representative replied with the following:
“The functionality of the battery health indicator is currently supported in beta 3 on Pixel 8A and Pixel 9 products, including 9 Pro Fold. Due to the limitations of the product, this function will not be available on old pixels peripherals on the market.”
This does not completely prevent the new battery health menu appearing on older pixel peripherals at a given time. Google's response was specifically related to the Android 16 Beta, not the full version.
However, the expression “This feature will not be available on old pixel devices on the market” is accompanied by the involvement that the company is not looking for further than the Google Pixel 8A, which launched a little more than a year ago.
Could it be strange and deeply boring if Google's latest generation input model had a new user interface feature as his big brother “pro”, operating on the same chip, did not do? You bet it would be the case.
