Google will gradually reduce Pixel 9a battery capacity on purpose as it ages
Google will gradually reduce Pixel 9a battery capacity on purpose as it ages
4 comments
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Why? If anything do the opposite so battery life feels the same over time.
It will be voluntary for any customers using previously launched devices."
So it's mandatory for the 9a and later devices? WTF google.
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they can't do the opposite (edit: well, besides derating the battery up front, but they would never do that since it would tarnish their spec sheet/marketing claims), since from the factory it is pushing the rated voltage of the battery to the max at 100% SoC, they can't push it past the physical limitations of the battery chemistry and construction
If I wanted to be overly generous, it's not untrue that this is a way for google to still advertise X hours of use on a single charge, but also extend battery lifetime for the average person who doesn't get into the settings and fiddle with things.
But this is a flawed approach. There's nothing special about the first 200 cycles, if you want to extend the lifetime of your battery, just keep the cycles between 20 and 80%, don't over or under charge, and it will last years longer. I think they already have the setting to limit charging like that.
but depending on how it's implemented it may end up having the apple-esque effect of purposefully degrading the experience of older devices to push people to upgrade. And making it mandatory and invisible to the user is just malicious
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Is there any data showing the real world effects of high speed (>60W) charging compared to the normal Samsung/Google approach after multiple years?
I've always limited my charges to 80% but I've heard the argument that phones that charge quickly stay warm for a shorter period of time which lessens the potential negative impact of that kind of charging.
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high speed charging is a separate issue to charge voltage.
I don't have data at hand, but it is generally easier on lithium ion batteries to charge (and discharge) slower. I believe compared to charge voltage, that is a relatively small effect assuming the product is designed for it and manages things like heat. In a product where heat is poorly managed and builds up during slow charging, all bets are off I suppose
charge voltage on the other hand has a well studied effect on battery longevity. reducing the max charge voltage (or increasing the minimum discharge voltage), can extend the number of cycles the battery will last without degrading in a huge way, more than doubling cycle count (depending on where those limits are set, ofc.
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