Most Bluetooth earbuds are compatible with the new Google Pixel battery widget but Wear OS is not

Google’s Pixel phones now include a new battery widget that shows users the energy levels of their phone and selects connected devices at a glance. Here’s how it works, what devices it supports, and one major flaw.

Google’s Pixel phones now include a new battery widget that shows users the energy levels of their phone and selects connected devices at a glance. Here’s how it works, what devices it supports, and one major flaw.

Google’s new Battery Widget isn’t Limited to Pixel Buds

According to the recent data shared, the inclusion of a new battery monitor widget to the home screen is one of the modest but interesting changes in the latest Feature Drop for Pixel phones. You can quickly monitor the battery levels of your phone and linked gadgets at a glance, with Google’s advertised example being Pixel Buds, of course. This functionality does, however, operate with various Bluetooth earphones to variable degrees.

The only earbuds we discovered that don’t appear on the new Pixel battery widget are Apple’s AirPods, which isn’t surprising.

The only difference we’ve noticed across buds so far has been in how they’ve reported on the case. While Sony LinkBuds and Google’s Pixel Buds consistently supplied information on the case battery level, the Jabra Elite 3 only displayed the battery levels of each individual earbud. The Jabra Elite 85t didn’t indicate the battery life of each individual earbud, instead of displaying the combined battery life of the two; the OnePlus Buds Pro and Galaxy Buds Pro did the same.

Limited Bluetooth Devices Support

However, this widget does not support every Bluetooth device at this time. In a nutshell, this widget relies on a device reporting its battery level to Android and making that information available in the settings menu and quick settings, if appropriate. As a result, most Bluetooth earbuds currently support this widget to some level. Surprisingly, we discovered that printers, assuming the hardware itself report a battery percentage, support this widget.

Wear OS smartwatches are, of course, the most obvious missing here right now. Wear OS smartwatches now transmit battery levels to the Wear OS app rather than directly to Android. Google and its partners will undoubtedly fix this in the future. As a consequence, the TicWatch Pro 3 connected to my Pixel 4a is missing from the widget.

Apple’s equivalent battery widget in iOS 14+, on the other hand, supports the Apple Watch.

Battery Widget on Pixel Devices

While the new battery widget for Pixel phones is technically part of the March 2021 Feature Drop, it is available now on Pixel 6 devices, which are still awaiting the March update by a week or two.

The new battery widget, as colleague Dylan Roussel pointed out, requires Android API level 32+, which means you’ll need Android “12.1,” also known as 12L. On a Pixel 6 running Android 12L beta and a Pixel 6 Pro running Android 13, we were able to successfully get the new battery widget up and running. All you have to do now is go to the Play Store and look for an update to “Settings Services.”

After you’ve installed the update, go to the “Widgets” selection and look for “Settings Services,” where you’ll see the battery widget. You may also use the search box to find what you’re looking for.