Google Pixel 9a Will Gain Battery Health Assistance Feature to Stabilise Performance and Ageing

Google Pixel 9a will receive a new battery management feature which aims to prolong its life by optimising the charge cycles, the company has confirmed. As per the Mountain View-based tech giant, the Pixel software will manage the lithium-ion battery's performance and the maximum voltage of the handset to help maintain its health as the phone ages, taking advantage of Battery Health Assistance. The feature will automatically tune the charging speed based on adjusted capacity, Google says.

Battery Health Assistance on the Pixel 9a

First spotted by 9to5Google, Google's overview page for the Pixel 9a now states that the handset's software will manage the battery performance as the phone ages to maintain its battery health. On its support page, the company further explains that lithium-ion batteries are consumable components which lose their capacity over time. This causes the phone to discharge more quickly than its rated runtime.

To minimise the impact of time on the battery, the Battery Health Assistance feature on Pixel 9a will adjust the battery's maximum voltage in stages which start at 200 charge cycles and continue gradually until 1000 charge cycles. Google says it will help stabilise the battery performance as well as its ageing.

As the battery ages, users may witness a small decrease in the phone's runtime. The software will tune the phone's charging speed based on the adjusted capacity and thus, a change in the battery charging performance may also occur. The company emphasises that the Battery Health Assistance settings are set by Google itself and are not customisable by the user.

Notably, this is not the first time that Google has released such a battery management feature. In January, the tech giant announced a “Battery Performance Programme” for the Pixel 4a as an over-the-air (OTA) update. It reduces the available battery capacity and also impacts the phone's charging performance, resulting in the phone lasting shorter between charge cycles. However, this update was aimed at reducing the overheating risk associated with the phone.