With the latest update, Google Pixel smartphones now have the ability to charge only up to 80% to increase battery life – after reaching this point, they begin to be powered directly from the network, bypassing the battery.
A new feature that limits charging to 80% on Google Pixel smartphones appeared with the release of the December update to Android 15 QPR1 – charging to 100% can accelerate the degradation of the power source over time. When 80% is reached, the battery stops charging and the mains connection is used to power the device directly.
The authors of the Android Authority resource decided to test this in practice. When the phone was idle, it consumed 0.1 watts of power; when the screen was turned on, this figure increased to 0.74 W; when launching applications, the energy consumption level was already 2.6 W; and resource-intensive benchmarks increased the indicator in the range from 4.6 to 7.6 W. When you disable the option to charge up to 80% and switch to the “Adaptive charging” mode, the phone returns to the standard operating scheme: charging up to 100% and powered by battery.
Image source: 9to5google.com
This mode seems to be most useful when running resource-intensive mobile games: the device will be able to receive the necessary energy without charging or discharging the battery, and the phone will not heat up so much. Therefore, direct power mode is often supported by gaming smartphones. Google expects to extend the lifespan of Pixel devices to seven years, and the new power mode may help the company achieve this goal.