Android 14 tipped to get iOS-like battery health feature, custom lock screen clocks

Google is reportedly bringing a fan-favourite iOS battery feature to its latest Android 14 mobile operating system. To recap, Apple introduced the Battery Health feature with iOS 11.3 back in 2017. Notably, the feature helps users check whether the battery needs a replacement.

While all iPhones boast the Battery Health feature, it has been absent on Android devices. However, that's about to change with Android 14, according to a noted Android researcher Mishaal Rehman. Google announced Android 14 in February as part of the developer preview.

The first beta version of Android 14 made its debut ahead of the Google IO 2023. The search giant unveiled Android 14 Beta 2 on May 10 during the IO 2023 conference. Now, Rahman claims Google is prepping to bring one of the most popular iOS features to Android 14.

Android 14: Rumoured new feature

Taking to Twitter, Rahman revealed he found a few BatteryManager APIs that have been added to Android 14. While two APIs including charge cycle count and charging status are public, the remaining are system APIs (state of health, charging policy, date of first use, and manufacturing date).

Furthermore, the tipster suggests any app with the BATTERY_STATS permission can summon the new system APIs. Currently, this feature is available on Pixel devices that boot the recently rolled-out Android 14 Beta 2. To those unaware, Rahman has a reputation for divulging key Android OS-related details ahead of official announcements.

For example, the leaker recently revealed that Android 14 will come with a more private screen recording feature. Interestingly, developer Narek used the new BatteryManager APIs to come up with a quick proof-of-concept battery health app. You can download this open-source app dubbed Batt by heading straight to GitLab.

The Batt App

The leaked screenshots suggest the app can show the battery's health using the new APIs. Aside from this, it can show the charging status, as well as the number of charge cycles. On the downside, there's no way to know whether these stats are accurate. According to Rahman, the app is designed to report what the APIs return.

This depends on whether the HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) supports this feature, and whether the charging IC is tracking the stats. Nevertheless, Google is likely to add this feature to Android in the coming days. The feature will be accessible through the Settings app. The folks at MySmartPrice believe other manufacturers might use the new APIs to pull this data as well.

Popular brands including Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme, and OnePlus could offer this feature to their users with the Android 14 update. As a result, Android device users will not need any other app to track the health status of their battery. The feature will help users know when to replace the battery. It is also worth noting that Android OS boasts a slew of useful features that are still absent in iOS.

Other expected Android 14 features

Last week, Rahman indicated the next generation mobile OS will feature new custom lock screen clocks. In his tweet, the tech journalist further implied that the clock options could be available with the upcoming Android 14 Beta 3.

The impending Android 14 Beta release will probably have a few bugs. However, a Phone Arena report suggests Google isn't likely to deviate its focus on polishing up the next Android build. So, those joining the Android 14 Beta program with the upcoming release will have to use the program until Google releases the final and stable version of Android 14 in August.

To make an early withdrawal, you might have to perform a factory reset. So, it is imperative to back up all your data before you join any Beta program. The purported customised lock screen clocks will be able to show time in multiple colours. Also, you can change the size of the clock between Dynamic and Small.