The Pixel 10 will actively manage your battery life, whether you like it or not

One of the less-discussed but more impactful new features of the Pixel 10 series is something Google calls “Battery Health Assistance.” First introduced on the Pixel 9a, this software feature is designed to prolong the life of your phone’s battery by actively managing its charging speed and capacity over time. The only problem? On the new Pixel 10, this “feature” is mandatory, and you can’t turn it off.

According to a report from Android Authority, Google has confirmed that Battery Health Assistance is enabled by default on the entire Pixel 10 lineup and cannot be disabled by the user. This means, over the life of your phone, its charging speed and effective battery life will be intentionally reduced by the software.

What is Battery Health Assistance, exactly?

All smartphone batteries degrade over time; that’s just a fact of chemistry. Google’s goal with this feature is to slow that process down. The software works by gradually adjusting the battery’s maximum voltage and tuning the charging speed over the course of the phone’s life, starting at 200 charge cycles and continuing up to 1,000.

In theory, this should help “stabilize battery performance and aging.” In practice, it means you may notice small, software-induced decreases in your battery’s runtime and a slight change in charging performance as your phone gets older.

A heavy-handed solution to a real problem

While the intention here is good—everyone wants their phone’s battery to last as long as possible—the implementation is what’s causing concern for users. Forcing this feature on users without giving them a choice is a heavy-handed move that takes control away from the owner of the device.

This is especially frustrating when you look at how competitors are tackling the same issue. Companies like Samsung and OnePlus are investing in more durable battery hardware that can withstand far more charge cycles (1,600-2,000) before dropping to 80% effective capacity. Google’s software-based solution feels less like an innovation and more like a band-aid, raising questions about the longevity of the actual batteries being used in the new Pixels.

This move also doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It comes after a string of well-documented battery issues with older Pixel A series phones, from mandatory updates that tanked battery life on the 4a and 6a, to battery swelling issues with the 7a. It’s hard not to see this new, mandatory feature as a direct, and perhaps overly cautious, response to those past problems.

Ultimately, while Battery Health Assistance may very well help your Pixel 10’s battery survive a bit longer, it comes at the cost of user choice and peak performance. And, unfortunately, it’s a trade-off that Google has decided to make for you whether you agree with it or not.