Deliberate weakening after only 200 charging cycles: Google Pixel 9a limits battery voltage according to a planned schedule

[Redaktion]

The Google Pixel 9a will be delivered in just a few days. The mid-range smartphone comes with a new "battery life optimization" feature, which shortens the battery life after just 200 charging cycles and also reduces the charging speed.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Deliberate-weakening-after-only-200-charging-cycles-Google-Pixel-9a-limits-battery-voltage-according-to-a-planned-schedule.991310.0.html

[Martin82]

So they'll cause the thing they are supposedly trying to prevent?
That's "brilliant".

Not that i would have considered a Pixel anyway, but this "feature" definitely wouldn't make me buy one even if i liked the phone.

[The Werewolf]

Uhm... isn't this essentially what Apple was doing with earlier iPhones and then got nailed for it?

I guess Google doesn't learn from history.

[Martin82]

And that's in the age of Si/c batteries. They really have no excuse.

[buttha]

And today is not April 1st 😐

[anan]

In all fairness. If done properly, this could extend the useful battery life almost twice. But it needs to be communicated properly - how much will they decrease the performance. And to allow people to change this if they want to.

[TruthIsThere]

...and yet, some folks still... wonders why, AFTER DECADES OF REVOLUTIONARY TECHNOLOGY, "how come simple battery technology has not evolved since the days of NiCd", huh?! 😏

Simple answer:

Just like many sectors e.g. Healthcare - doctors, health institutions, pharmaceutical companies, insurance company, ect. - EVERYONE IS ON THE TAKE!

The exact same thing is happening here.

I mean... why release, to the public, a energy source that could cater to all devices that could retain its full energized properties for these devices that has the capability of running at 100% after each daily use for days/weeks just on ONE SINGLE CHARGE (that will ultimately... destroy ALL current battery companies in the trillions in currency) but instead, let's stay in the days of the Flintstones, right?! 😏

[Worgarthe]

In all fairness. If done properly, this could extend the useful battery life almost twice. But it needs to be communicated properly - how much will they decrease the performance. And to allow people to change this if they want to.

In all fairness, after the whole RECENT Pixel 4a fiasco where Google destroyed thousands of devices and then blamed it all on users by basically saying "Welp, it sucks, buy a new phone.", one would have to be extremely bold to trust Google. It's not about bad updates and hardware issues, those happen with every OEM, it's about actions of a particular OEM and how they approach to those problems. Google... Yeah, we've seen it many times how do they operate, not just in the 4a case.