Not all batteries age in the same way. Some problems will appear quickly, but others will only be noticeable after many load/discharge cycles. A few years ago, Samsung released the Galaxy Note 7 with a slightly larger battery than the previous model. Within a few weeks the telephones started to be on fire and even after exchanging in another battery pack the problem remained. It was a huge mess that led to a recall and steep financial losses.
Samsung's wide steps may have encouraged manufacturers to take possible battery defects more seriously. So when Google discovered problems with aging Pixel 4A batteries, it took no risk. It decided to deteriorate the experience on the remaining Pixel 4A units, even if the lower capacity and slower charging of region users. When Pixel 6A units started to grasp, Google decided to easily limit the battery performance.
The mandatory Android 16 July update limits the loading speed of the battery and the capacity on the affected telephones.
Credit: Ryan Whitwam
The mandatory Android 16 July update limits the loading speed of the battery and the capacity on the affected telephones.
Credit: Ryan Whitwam
Pixel 4A units contain one of the two different batteries and only the one manufactured by a company called Lishen was degraded. For the Pixel 6A, Google has determined that the battery limits are imposed when the cells hit 400 loading cycles. Furthermore, the risk of fire is too great – there have been reports of Pixel 6A phones that burst into flames.
It is clear that Google had to do something, but the remedies that brought it up to date feel unnecessarily hostile to customers. It had the chance to do better the second time, but the solution for the Pixel 6a is more of the same.
A problem of making Google
Just like other smartphone manufacturers, Google left from offering removable batteries in the years 2010 to make telephones slimmer and more sustainable. Smartphonemakers have largely rejected the worries of repair-forecasts who pointed out that lithium ion batteries deteriorate over time and that they were difficult to remove was not the best idea. However, this was a time when people kept only a year or two smartphones before they upgrade, but we have since entered an ER in which people use phones for much longer. The way in which phones are brought to the market has changed to indicate that – Google has established longer support windows, with seven years for its latest phones.
