Android 16 will bring a charging limit that will stop it from charging higher than 80%. This is a tool to help prolong your battery’s life over its lifespan. Based on a new report, it looks like your phone will still fully charge every two weeks even if you have the limit enabled.
This might seem like a bug to some people. After updating to the latest Android 16 beta (#3), people found that their phones would charge all the way to 100% even if they had the limit. They reported it, but a GrapheneOS Discussion Forum post revealed that it was intended behavior. According to that report, the phone needed to charge all the way to recalibrate the battery level. So, people would need to charge their phone all the way and leave it there for some time before taking it off of the charger.
We got word that the phone would need to do this occasionally to make sure that the battery stays calibrated. However, we didn’t really know what the company meant by “occasionally.”
Your phone will fully charge every two weeks, even with the charging limit
With the new beta, Google is more clear about when your phone will charge to 100%. In the last beta, the company only said that it would charge fully occasionally. However, with the Android 16 Beta 3, the company provides a better idea.
It says that your phone will charge to 100% every 1 – 2 weeks. While it could definitely be clearer, it’s still better than just saying occasionally. We’re not sure that Google will tell users when their phone plans to charge fully in the final release, but that would be nice. For example, when you plug your phone in, and it’s going to charge fully, you could get a notification letting you know. This way, you know to unplug it.
Anyway, it’s good that Google is taking care to improve the battery experience for its users. Nowadays, people are less likely to buy new phones, so it’s great that people have the option to extend their phone’s lifespan.
