Android To Give Battery Health Updates

Android devices may soon tell users when their phone is starting to degrade. It's a feature already found in phones.

The feature is not about the percentage of charge the battery has, which is easy to find in Android settings and can be shown permanently on the screen.

Instead, it's about battery health. It's described by Google as the "estimated percentage of charge the battery can currently hold compared to when it was new." That's not necessarily as straightforward as it might seem: battery life doesn't necessarily degrade at a consistent rate.

A rule of thumb, the battery should retain at least 80 percent of its original charge for several years. Once it falls below the 80 percent mark, it's usually time to replace it. That's because the rate of decline will often speed up dramatically and have a significant effect on the performance of the device.

Android 15 Debut Possible

The feature has been spotted in the latest beta edition of Android 14, though it's disabled by default and hidden away. There's a good chance that means Google is trying it out with a view to adding it to Android 15, which will most likely be out next fall.

Enthusiasts at the Android Authority site noted the hidden implementation of the feature also suggests the Google Settings app will actively notify users when their battery is either at a significant level of degraded capacity, or there's a fault that means the battery capacity isn't readable. That means users wouldn't have to know about the feature or actively check the numbers. (Source: androidauthority.com)

iPhone Already Shows Details

iPhones already show these details, though the way the figure is calculated can be confusing. In that case the capacity can actually start "above" 100 percent because the percentage is based on the advertised capacity. The actual capacity of batteries can vary, so Apple plays it safe by understating its claims.

However, the battery health is set to show 100 percent as a maximum. That can mean it displays 100 percent for several months (while the battery is still above the advertised figure) and then appear to suddenly start dropping quickly once it declines below the advertised capacity. (Source: zdnet.com)

What's Your Opinion?

Would knowing your Android battery capacity be useful? Would it make a difference to when you either replaced the battery or got a new handset? Should manufacturers be clearer about what level of battery decline is a genuine problem?