What you must know
- Google casually confirms the Pixel 8a’s existence, hinting on the return of the beforehand eliminated battery stats characteristic.
- The characteristic will likely be unique to the Pixel 8a and its successors, per a Google software program engineer.
- The battery stats characteristic was launched in Android 14’s QPR1 replace after which disappeared within the March 2024 Pixel replace.
- It seems Google deliberately eliminated the characteristic, with the software program engineer stating that it wasn’t meant for current gadgets.
Google has casually confirmed the existence of the Pixel 8a by dropping a touch a few just lately eliminated characteristic that is making a comeback with it.
The affirmation was made after a Google software program engineer responded to a person bug report. In a thread about battery stats, the software program engineer let it slip that the characteristic is making a comeback for the Pixel 8a, signaling that the Google Pixel 7a‘s successor is within the pipeline (through 9to5Google).
The software program engineer additionally talked about that this characteristic is solely for the Pixel 8a and the fashions that may come after it.
The Android bug tracker chat was initiated after Google slipped in some new battery stats info with the Android 14’s QPR1 replace, positioned within the About telephone part throughout the Settings menu. It allowed customers to take a look at the charging cycle counts and when their battery was manufactured.
Quick ahead to the March 2024 replace for Pixel telephones, and the characteristic vanished into skinny air. Naturally, folks obtained interested in why it disappeared. The larger query was why Google launched a characteristic after which went silent when it abruptly vanished. Google averted offering an evidence for that.
On the bug tracker web page, the software program engineer acknowledged that the disappearance was intentional as a result of this web page wasn’t purported to pop up on present gadgets within the first place.
In accordance with the thread, the characteristic is about to return with the Pixel 8a. And simply possibly, these battery stats would possibly go stay for all Android telephones when Android 15 launches later this 12 months.
Anyway, this marks the primary time that Google has brazenly confirmed the upcoming midrange mannequin’s existence. That mentioned, it isn’t an enormous shock, given the discharge patterns of the corporate’s latest Pixel A-series telephones.
Rumor has it that the Pixel 8a would possibly make its debut within the subsequent few months, presumably seeing the sunshine of day across the time of Google I/O in Could.
In the case of worth tags, earlier rumors counsel the telephone’s price would possibly take a little bit leap once more (similar to how the Pixel 7a outpriced the Pixel 6a).