All of our top Android phones come with built-in overheating control, which allows them to immediately turn off some capabilities to prevent damage when they become too hot. This often entails lowering the CPU clock speed, dimming the brightness, disabling 5G, and so on. In extreme instances, your phone may turn off until things settle down. While Pixel phones already have such anti-overheating features, Google may soon release a new “Adaptive Thermal” feature that will detail what’s going on in the background and allow you to actively control your phone’s temperatures.
Mishaal Rahman writes for Android Authority about discovering references to the new Adaptive Thermal feature in the current Device Health Services app v1.27 for Pixels. The strings indicate that when your phone’s temperature reaches 49 degrees Celsius, a “pre-emergency” notice is sent. When this occurs, a notification displays stating that your phone needs to cool down and that its performance may suffer.
Tapping the “See care steps” button in the notification opens a dialog box that lists all of the measures your phone is taking to minimize heat. It also offers certain steps you can take, such as removing the device from direct sunlight, placing the phone in the open for better airflow, and dismissing all battery-intensive programs.
Adaptive Thermal will shut off your Pixel if the temperature continues to rise.
If the aforementioned measures do not assist cool down the phone and it exceeds 52 degrees Celsius, Adaptive Thermal will activate a “emergency” mode. The report is vague on the activities your Pixel will take in such scenarios. But if even these don’t work and the temperature rises beyond 55 degrees Celsius, the phone will shut down after a 30-second countdown.
None of the actions described in Adaptive Thermal are novel. Your Pixel already has these overheating safeguards built in. And if you’ve had a smartphone for a few years, you’ll know not to use it in bright sunlight when it’s overheating. Still, the feature should assist users understand what is going on in the background of their phones when temperatures rise to uncomfortably high levels.
Adaptive Thermal appears to be a work in progress, but it could be available with the public release of Android 15 or the incoming Pixel 9 series later this year.