I used Pixel’s new battery summaries for a week. Google has work to do

I rolled my eyes when I heard Google was bringing AI battery summaries to Pixel phones. I’ve enjoyed some of the latest Gemini Intelligence improvements on my Pixel 11 Pro XL, but some implementations seem excessive. Still, battery life is a huge concern for many Pixel owners, so any new (and hopefully helpful) ways to analyze battery usage could have potential upsides.

I tracked my battery usage for a week using Google’s new summary tool. In many ways, I wasn’t surprised, and it would be easy to throw battery summaries on the extensive pile of Google tools and features that shouldn’t exist. Still, there are some silver linings, and with a few tweaks, battery summaries can change how you manage your battery.

To access the new battery summary, you don’t have to do anything special. Go to Settings, then Battery and charging. When you tap Battery usage, it’ll appear at the top of the page. It takes about a second to show up, presumably while Gemini analyzes what’s going on with your battery and usage for that period.

I didn’t need any AI summary to tell me that TikTok and X drain my battery. While I appreciate Google telling me that in plain English instead of those meaningless percentages, it still won’t change the way I use my phone. I know some apps are power hogs, but if they are apps you have to (or enjoy) using, you’re going to live with them not being the most efficient.

While I don’t see AI summaries changing how I use my phone, I do enjoy knowing whether I’ve been particularly aggressive with my usage up to that point in the day. If I have a long day ahead and know I won’t get a chance to top off my battery, I appreciate knowing whether I need to cut back on scrolling. AI battery summaries will tell you whether you’re using your phone normally or if you’ve drained more than usual for that time of day.

However, what interests me most about Google’s new battery summaries isn’t what they currently do, but their potential for the future.

I hope the current state of battery summaries is just the beginning. There is so much more data that it can mine to give me useful feedback about my usage or potential trouble spots. Android was already solid about alerting me to background and dormant apps that were chewing through too much battery. However, I’d love to know how much other background functions were eating away.

I’d welcome it if battery summaries became a more complete overview of my device’s health, with a widget I could keep on my home screen. Knowing whether I’m using more battery than usual for that time of day is great, but a comprehensive breakdown of why, relative to my normal app usage, is more actionable. Did I scroll way more than usual? Or perhaps I just had a long drive, and Google Maps crushed my battery. One I can do something about, while the other I just write off as unavoidable.

I don’t know if it’ll expose information Google doesn’t want in front of your face, but I’d be fascinated to know about cellular connectivity strength throughout the day. If I were in a particularly low-signal area and the modem was straining, that’s something I could use. Poor modem performance plagued previous Pixels, and while these last few generations haven’t had that issue, I’d still like to see what role it plays in battery usage — even if it’s unavoidable.

Another way Google could improve battery summaries is to be more predictive. If it senses I’m a heavy social media user, and that’s the main culprit behind my poor battery performance, give me the numbers. Tell me I can only scroll TikTok for 30 more minutes today if I want to make it through my day. As with the updated Google Health, if AI can give me some actionable data, I’m all for it.

Unlike in previous years, I’m more open to Google’s efforts to use AI to improve the user experience. The Pixel 11 Pro XL is the best example yet, and I’ve seen some flashes that Gemini Intelligence might actually deliver things I’d use daily. Battery summaries are a decent start, but like with Daily Hub, Daily Brief, and others, we’ve seen promising AI ideas from Google not play out as planned.

Battery summaries aren’t much worth your time right now, but hopefully, Google is just getting started.