My old Pixel has a battery setting Google won’t let newer owners turn off

Android is all about choice and customization, but to some, that identity is fading away. Every version of Android that ships with a commercial phone is a far cry from the basic Android Open Source Project release, complete with custom manufacturer tweaks — and restrictions. Pixel phones arrive with Google’s vision for Android, sometimes mistakenly referred to as “stock Android.” In many ways, it’s more limited than the Android skins you get from Samsung or Motorola.

I’ve written about one way Pixel phones are limited by software: the Battery Health Assistance feature you can’t turn off. It’s designed to preserve the long-term health of your battery by throttling voltage and charging speed. However, there’s a flip side to Battery Health Assistance. If you have an older Pixel, Battery Health Assistance is enabled by default, but you can manually disable it.

I pulled my Google Pixel 8a review unit…