Earlier this year, Google quietly implemented a new feature for all models from Pixel 3 to the latest Pixel 5a and onwards. The new safety measure was meant to keep the phone’s battery healthier throughout its lifespan.
The feature automatically reduces the maximum charge percentage from 100% to 80% in specific scenarios. One such case is if the phone was under high battery drain conditions like, for example, gameplay during charging. The other instance is when the phone stays in continuous charge for four days or more.
With the Beta 5 version of Android 12, Google has expanded on these preventative measures and has created more scenarios in which a Pixel would restrict its charging process. This time, the trigger is overheating. If your Pixel phone starts to overheat for any reason, the device will limit its charging.
As of now, Google is yet to specify the method it will use for setting the limitation. It could just be another percentage cap, but other ways—such as limiting the charging speed—also sound reasonable. The latter is well known to be a healthier and more sparing way to juice up your phone.
9to5Google states to have found strings in the update that show several potential notifications that Pixel owners can see in a case where the software decides charging should be limited.
These are the variations you might receive when that happens: “Your phone is limiting charging to help preserve battery health”; “Charging [is] temporarily limited.”; or just a “learn more” button that will lead you to a support page with more information on what Pixels might do when they start to overheat.
In case you want to take a look at them, here are the strings themselves:
- Your phone is limiting charging to help preserve battery health
- https://support.google.com/pixelphone?p=overheat_emergency
- Learn more
- Resume charging
- Charging temporarily limited
It’s worth mentioning that in neither of the battery health measures Google’s introduced is there an option to toggle them on or off. A bit unfair, but that is one of the ways companies can control the user experience and satisfaction from their products.
