- As you use your phone, its battery naturally loses some of its capacity over time.
- Android is preparing to give you an estimate of your battery’s remaining capacity.
- Android’s new battery health settings could also tell you whether your device’s battery has been replaced.
Android phones are receiving software updates for longer than ever, with devices like the Google Pixel 8 series receiving seven years of updates. Plus, device makers are expanding repair options and parts availability, with some even offering self-repair programs so you can fix your device yourself. If you’re planning to use the same phone for as long as it’s officially supported, then chances are you’ll need to replace its battery at some point.
That’s because batteries degrade over time, reducing the maximum charge capacity and thus your phone’s runtime on a single charge. Knowing when you need to replace your phone’s battery is tough, though, because there’s no easy way to actually measure the remaining capacity. There are apps that can provide a rough estimate, but they need to collect data over days or even weeks to arrive at a somewhat accurate measurement. Even then, these apps may arrive at a totally inaccurate result.