What you need to know
- A dive into Google's Device Health Services app shows signs of a new “Adaptive Thermal” feature for Pixels.
- The feature appears designed to help users take necessary action if their Pixel overheats, something the feature will alert them about.
- Adaptive Thermal presents several warning states if a Pixel's temperature rises too high before shutting down to protect itself.
It looks like Google is working on a way to help users keep their Pixels cool if they're at risk of overheating.
According to Mishaal Rahman in Android Authority, version 1.27 of the Device Health Services app on Pixels contains hints about “Adaptive Thermal”. The first strings of code in the app suggest that Google's new feature will warn users if their Pixel is invading those higher temperatures so they can help.
It was discovered that Adaptive Thermal will send a “pre-emergency” notification to users if their device approaches 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The notification is accompanied by a tagline that says “the phone needs to cool down” and that your Pixel's performance will slow down.
Google explains in the app code that these performance “limitations” include the speed of your Pixel, disabling your 5G network connection “and more.”
The feature will also offer some suggestions that users can use to cool down their Pixel by tapping “See care steps.” The code shows that users can see the following options:
- Try to avoid direct sunlight.
- Leave your phone outdoors for air circulation
- Close all applications that consume a lot of battery, such as videos, games, and the camera.
Rahman says Adaptive Thermal will continuously check the temperature of your device every five minutes. If your Pixel has not improved and instead increases the temperature to 126 degrees or higher, this will activate its “emergency” status. While it sounds serious, Rahman adds that he couldn't see the details of that phase.
Additionally, if the temperature rises significantly to 131 degrees or higher, your device will warn you of an impending shutdown. The code shows that Adaptive Thermal will warn you that your Pixel has turned off within 30 seconds to protect it.
It's unclear when Google plans to roll out this feature to Pixels, but it could arrive in the future. Pixel 9 Series if something.
It's nothing new to say that Google's Pixel series has a bad track record of overheating, as the problems of Pixel 7 and 6 users faced last year. Those issues followed a security patch in which Reddit users reported a sharp increase in the device's temperature, followed by costly draining of its batteries.
The Pixel 8 series found some overheating problems later last year too. It didn't seem widespread, however, several users reported that their devices became quite hot when browsing the internet and while charging.
