Google Pixel 4a’s update intentionally reduces its battery life

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Google’s Pixel 4a has been synonymous with a great smartphone at an affordable price point, but it just got a software update that challenges that perspective. The update reduces the time indicated by the battery icon. This is not a side effect of some new software in today’s markets. This is the real meaning of the refresh.

Wait, what? Google has explained in the release notes of the software update to Android 13 that they seriously deteriorate the battery and charging performance on each device. However, they help to “improve the stability” of the device. That was the only justification the company gave. This was necessary, as we contacted Google to inquire about at least one specific reason as to why this was needed.

Any other Google Pixel 4a users get an email about a battery update with Android 13 that may affect your phone's battery? I'm reading this and like…what 😅

— Alexis Collins (@Lexiscee) January 7, 2025

More like this

• Subsidy removal: Governor Obaseki increases minimum wage, reduces working days 
• Tips on how to make your Android’s battery last more than a day
• How to power down an Apple Watch
• Discover the all-new Google Pixel 9 series: now available
• Android 15 update is causing issues on Pixel 6 Phones

The only relief for current Pixel 4a owners is some solace that they have the best screencast experience of any phone out there. All the Pixel 4a phones will be able to get the update automatically but only some of the devices will experience the decline in battery life and charging. As for what determines which handsets are to be affected by the update, that isn’t clear, but the owners of ‘affected devices’ will have some ‘propitiation options’ to consider.

Consumers are able to mail the phone in for a free battery replacement but that means the owner of the will be without a handset while Google replaces the battery. If that’s not feasible, the company will mail affected owners $50 or provide a $100 credit toward a Pixel phone from the Google Store. Owners of Pixel 4a have one year to decide which of these options they wish to go with.

The problem might be that nothing is wrong, and Pixel 4a batteries just die over time, given that the phone came out in 2020. This means they may not supply all the power requisitioned by the current operating systems. The update is literally in the title as a software update could be part of an update that aims to minimize such occurrences as hitches, freezes and shutdowns and the battery life drawback is just the tag along.

This whole thing sounds suspiciously similar to when Apple began throttling older iPhones’ performance in 2017. However, Apple was not very open with their customers at that time I might mention the court cases and so on. Google at least appears to be headed this way, even though it might be helpful if it were a bit more forthcoming.