Pixel’s Adaptive Charging & Battery Saver

Powered by Google’s custom-built Tensor chip, Google Pixel comes with worry-free battery life. A fully charged Google Pixel will work for more than 24 hours on Fold, and more than 30 hours on Pixel 11 or Pixel 11 Pro. And if you want to extend your Pixel’s performance even longer, try Adaptive Battery.

Adaptive Battery uses machine learning to triage apps based on which are more important to you. Lesser-used apps that don’t need to be constantly running in the background are pushed out of the device’s memory when you’re finished with them, while the apps that you use more frequently are kept in the memory for faster access.

“There’s a million things that are invisible in the background to users,” says Google product manager Matt Kulick. “We do a lot of protective things to make sure that the battery life is preserved.”

You can set Battery Saver mode to turn on automatically, either according to a set schedule based on your usage or when the battery drops below a certain level. Some users may opt for a lower threshold if they know they are always near a charger, but others might opt to set it higher.

“Everyone has a certain level of battery anxiety – for me, because I have kids, I need my phone to be working all the time,” says Matt. “So my battery level is set really high. I want to go into this Battery Saver mode pretty early on.”

There’s more than one reason to have the latest versions of apps and software on your phone, and power is one of them. Matt says that applications become more battery efficient with each new iteration, addressing errors and glitches that use unnecessary power.

Save your eyes and extend your battery by reducing the brightness of your phone. You can also set your phone to Dark theme, which turns your background to black. It uses less power and relieves some of the strain on your eyes.

Matt also says Pixel users should be aware of activities that drain their batteries most. Video calls and gaming are at the top of the list. Users should also shut down apps they have opened but aren’t using.

“Keep what you’re doing in the foreground alive, and shut as much stuff down in the background as possible,” says Matt. “We designed the battery so that you have peace of mind and don’t have to worry about finding an outlet.” 

Your Pixel’s battery is strong and long-lasting. But like all batteries, it can degrade over time. If you have a Pixel 8 Pro or newer, that’s where the Adaptive Charging feature helps. It learns your charging habits, then slows down your phone’s charging speed overnight to prolong your battery life. Just go to your phone’s Settings app, tap Battery and then Adaptive Charging, and turn it on.