Android phones may finally be getting a battery health indicator

Google might finally start telling you when your Android phone has a degraded battery, Android expert Mishaal Rahman wrote in an article for Android Authority. Unlike iPhone users, who have been able to see their phone’s battery health stats from their settings for a long time, Android owners currently need a third-party app or must enter special command codes in order to check out their battery health. This month’s Pixel Feature Drop already added new battery information; currently, it shows the manufacture date of your battery and its cycle count. But the Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2 adds a hidden “battery health” page, Rahman says, and although it doesn’t yet include an actual battery health meter, code suggests that it could show information like “estimated percentage of charge the battery can currently hold compared to when it was new.” Rahman also found icons seemingly representing things like reduced battery capacity or the battery not being detected. He also says the Settings app will send “tips” when there are any updates on battery health (i.e., if your phone can’t detect your battery or the battery health is degraded). A battery health indicator may seem like a pretty basic feature to iPhone owners, who have had access to battery health information for years, but it’s nice to see that Android owners may finally be getting one that’s accessible right from the standard Settings app, especially as genuine repair parts (including batteries) and self-repair guides are becoming more readily available.