Thanks to Google's Pixel drop for December 2024, you can now set your Pixel phone to stop charging at 80 percent.

Google has introduced a noteworthy feature in its latest update for Pixel devices that allows users to limit their phone's charging capacity to a maximum of 80%. This addition, part of the December Pixel drop and rolled out with Android 15 QPR1, is aimed at promoting battery longevity by reducing stress associated with charging to full capacity. However, the feature has an important caveat: if the device is powered off when charged, it will ignore this limit and charge up to 100%. Users must turn their devices on shortly after plugging them in to ensure the 80% cap is respected. This limitation stems from the feature being controlled at the operating system level rather than the hardware level, indicating a potential area for future improvement by Google. While most users keep their phones powered on, this oversight could frustrate those who prefer to turn their devices off to conserve battery life or during overnight charging. This analysis, reviewed and analyzed by artificial intelligence, underscores the balance between increasing user control over battery management while also highlighting the intricacies of smartphone technology that users should be aware of.