The December Feature Drop introduced a trio of smart features to better optimize Pixel usage. Customizable charging, which allows you to slowly charge your Pixel overnight to maintain the health of the battery, is the most important, but there are important requirements to make it work.
Adaptive Charging helps maintain battery health over time by dynamically controlling how fast a Pixel device charges. Just plug in your phone in the evening, set an alarm and the Adaptive Charging will work its magic.
This feature charges your phone gradually over several hours, rather than working as fast as possible to reach 100%. Since the device will not be used for a long period of time, there is little concern that users will be upset about how long it takes to fully charge.
Adaptive Charging, available on the Pixel 4 / XL, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a (5G) and Pixel 5, will help extend your battery life so that it can better maintain its original capacity while owning the device.
It can be manually turned on or off via Settings> Battery> Customizable Battery> Customizable Charge, while Google notices when it’s active at the bottom of the surround / always-on screen. From Google’s description, users need to (1) load at night and (2) have an alarm.
A Google support document contains details regarding both points. Namely, your phone should start charging after 21:00, while the alarm should be between 5-10 hours
Important: If you charge your phone after 21:00, with an active alarm for 05-10 hours, your phone uses a customizable charge. Otherwise, charge your phone normally.
It should match the schedule of most people, but there are always marginal cases, such as those who work at night and sleep during the day. Meanwhile, it is also a stumbling block for those who get up very early or go on weekends without alarm.
As such, Google is setting certain hours disadvantage. By comparison, Apple’s optimized battery charge works more commonly by predicting when an iOS device ‘will be connected to a charger for a long time’.
In theory, Google should make the feature work at all times, not just at night, because you’re explicitly aware of your alarm. Hopefully, Google Adaptive Charging will expand to work with the schedule of more Pixel owners in the future.
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