Google’s Android battery health indicator is only for the newest Pixels

Google says it’s ‘infeasible’ to support the Android 16 feature on Pixel 8 or older devices.

Google has been working on a battery health menu that could help you determine why your Android phone isn’t lasting as long between charges as it used to. It’s similar to an iPhone feature that launched in 2018, but unlike that rollout, it won’t be available on the older devices that probably need it the most.

As reported by Android Authority and pointed out on Reddit, a Google developer on the public Android Issue Tracker site said the battery health indicator feature will only come to the company’s Pixel 8A and newer models, and that Google “won’t fix” the problem because it’s “infeasible.”

The note, in response to users testing on devices including the Pixel 6 and Pixel 8 Pro, reads:

Google launched the battery health indicator to Android 16 beta testers in March and has been spotted working on some form of the utility since 2023. We asked Google why the feature is restricted to Pixel 8A and Pixel 9, but haven’t received a response yet.