Last week, Google shipped the Android 17 QPR2 Beta 3 update to Pixel phones, bringing useful features like native App lock and more. Now, a new report has discovered an yet-to-release “Battery usage summaries” feature, which could use AI to generate reports.
Folks over at Android Authority managed to spot relevant code strings in Android 17 QPR2 beta 3, pertaining to a new “Battery usage summaries” feature. The publication managed to activate it on their Pixel phones, giving us a glimpse into how “Battery usage summaries” work.
The feature will seemingly sit behind the three-dot menu in the Battery Health section, where users can toggle it on or off. Once enabled, the feature generates a readable summary of how apps on the user's phone have been consuming battery, along with personalised tips to improve battery life.
The report claims that Battery usage summaries will only cover apps users have actively used in the last 14 days and will exclude system apps. The summary page says that "System apps are essential software for your Pixel and cannot be turned off. To simplify, summaries only include the apps that you actively use."
Moving on, the most interesting bit is that Battery usage summaries will be AI-generated. Google will use Gemini Nano models to handle battery usage analysis and the images confirm that the processing happens on-device.
Lastly, Battery usage summaries could also allow Pixel owners to give feedback. Users will be able to rate summaries as Accurate, Insightful, Easy to understand or offering Useful actions. They can also flag poor ones as Inaccurate, Not insightful, Hard to understand, Poor actions or Missing information.
Pixel Phones Supporting Battery Usage Summaries
Now, even though the battery usage summary is a nifty feature to have, not all Pixel owners will be able to get it. Since the feature depends on Gemini Nano running locally, it will only work on Pixel phones that support the on-device model.
This means phones older than the Pixel 8 Pro will not receive the battery usage summary feature. It will be available from the Pixel 8 Pro till the new Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL and the Pixel 11 Pro Fold.
Aside from that, the feature is not functional yet. Enabling it currently returns a "Device Health services not responding" error, confirming Google has not switched on the backend components. It should arrive with future Android 17 QPR updates or the stable release.
That said, the feature is extracted from an APK teardown, which reflects work-in-progress code. Hence, do not be surprised if the battery usage summary feature never really arrives.
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