Google reveals how long your Pixel’s battery will last (and it’s longer than you expect)

Curious about how well your Pixel’s battery capacity should hold up? Google’s support article “Understanding how your Pixel battery works” reveals the answer.

A charge cycle refers to the number of times your phone’s battery has completed a full discharge and recharge, including partial charges. For example, charging from 100 percent to 50 percent and back to 100 percent counts as half a charge cycle. A full charge from 0 to 100 percent constitutes one complete charge cycle.

According to Google, the Pixel phones are expected to maintain 80 percent capacity for a certain number of charge cycles:

• Pixel 3 through Pixel 8 Pro, including Pixel Fold: Around 800 charge cycles
• Pixel 8a and later: About 1000 charge cycles

This means that if you charge your phone from 0 to 100 percent daily, the battery should sustain 80 percent capacity for 1000 days. To optimize your Pixel’s battery health, Google recommends updating to the latest Android version, charging in a cool environment, and using adaptive charging.

To check the cycle count of your Pixel phone, go to Settings > About phone > Battery information if you own a Pixel 8a or later. The cycle count can be found below the phone’s manufacture date and first use date.

With the December Pixel Feature Drop, users can set a charge limit on Pixel phones to prolong battery life (available on Pixel 6 series and newer). Simply go to Settings > Battery > Charging optimization and select the 80 percent charge limit option.

Google also introduced bypass charging for Pixel 6 series and newer devices. This feature, which only activates with an 80 percent charge limit set, powers the phone with DC power from the charger after reaching the charge limit, preserving the battery’s lifespan. Note that bypass charging does not work when the phone is powered off.