Android 15 will open up access to battery data

In Android 15, Google plans to allow third-party apps to read battery status, i.e. remaining estimated charge capacity vs. rated capacity in %.

Currently, this reading cannot be requested via the public Android SDK, as access is limited to the BATTERY_STATS system permission only (although this permission can be granted manually via ADB).

Android 14 introduced an API for reading battery status, but it was limited “not because of privacy, but for engineering reasons” as there were “no instances where an application would require this permission.” This appears to have changed, however, as there are now planned use cases for it and it is now being made publicly available.

It should be noted that even if Android 15 opens it up as a public API, the data will likely not be available on all devices. The device’s battery charging circuitry may need to be configured to send this data to Android, which in turn will distribute it to apps via the API.