Google is stepping up its game in battery management with a new feature called Battery Health Assistance, expected to arrive with Android 16.
Aimed at enhancing long-term battery life and maintaining consistent performance, the feature marks a deeper focus on sustainable phone usage. But there’s a limitation, at least for now.
Battery Health “Assistance” is a more proactive version of the existing battery health monitoring system. The current version provides insights into battery wear and degradation over time. It allows users to track how charging habits have affected their battery’s capacity and age.
With the upcoming version, Google plans to take things a step further by actively managing battery health as it deteriorates. Instead of merely tracking stats, the “Assistance” feature will help extend battery lifespan by automatically reducing the runtime of the battery as it ages.
Pixel 9a Users Get First Access
Currently, the feature is available only on Pixel 9a smartphones. It’s already built into the Settings app and turned on by default; users of this model won’t be able to disable it.
Here’s how Google describes it in the Pixel 9a settings:
“Battery health assistance helps manage long-term battery health and performance. As your battery ages, you may notice slight changes in charging performance and battery capacity. Batteries are consumable parts that age over time and last fewer hours between charges…”
While Pixel 9a has the feature enabled automatically, Google has hinted that the “Assistance” function will eventually reach older Pixel devices as an optional setting. A recent update (Settings Services version 1.1.0.760434021) includes some new toggle options for previous Pixel models. The following strings were spotted:
<string name=”pulsar_main_switch_title”>Use battery health assistance</string>
<string name=”pulsar_confirmation_dialog_title”>Turn off battery health assistance?</string>
This suggests that older devices might soon be able to turn the feature on or off based on user preference.
For those testing Android 16 QPR1 beta builds, the feature isn’t live yet. But based on recent developments, it’s likely we’ll see Battery Health “Assistance” officially debut in one of the next major updates.
With Battery Health “Assistance,” Google is not just informing users about battery wear. It is actively helping them preserve battery longevity. While the feature currently comes with some restrictions, especially its exclusivity to Pixel devices, its gradual expansion signals a shift toward smarter, more sustainable device performance.
