A few weeks ago, Google released the Android 15’s December Pixel Drop update. The update’s changelog mentioned new Gemini features and more. However, it didn’t reveal that the Google Pixel smartphones now have a new option to limit the charging speed of the battery. The Pixel users can now set the charging limitation of their phone’s power cell to 80 percent. However, the update didn’t mention that the users can also bypass the charging limitation of their devices if they’ve enabled it.
You can bypass the charging limitation of your Pixel’s power cell
The latest December Pixel Drop update adds an option called “Use charging optimization” in the phone’s battery settings. From here, you can pick up the “Limit to 80%” option. This function will enable both the charging limit and the bypass settings on your smartphone. But, the feature doesn’t mention charger requirements for bypass to work.
However, if you charge your Pixel while powered off, the phone disregards the charging limitation and charges at 100% capacity. You must power on the device for the 80% charging limit to work. Notably, it seems that Google implements the charging limit at the Android OS level rather than at the phone’s hardware level.
The charging speed doesn’t affect your phone’s battery life
Notably, your phone’s charging speed doesn’t affect its battery life. Most OEMs create modern smartphones to manage power safety during fast charging, which reduces the risks of overheating and overcharging. However, there’s a minimal overall impact on battery degradation. That said, the lithium-ion batteries in smartphones have become more efficient, which takes care of overheating during fast charging.
Nowadays, phone batteries have multiple layers of safety features. These include heat shields, thermal layers, and even cooling pipes to move heat away from the battery. So in most cases, you don’t have to worry about charging your smartphone at 100% level.
