The Google Pixel 4a Battery Update Fiasco: What Really Happened?

In late 2023, Google released a software update for the Pixel 4a that unexpectedly and drastically reduced its battery life. This caused significant uproar among users, leading to accusations of planned obsolescence – the practice of designing products to become obsolete or unusable after a certain period. Let’s delve into what happened.

The Problem: A Dramatically Reduced Battery Life

The update, seemingly out of the blue, severely impacted the Pixel 4a’s battery performance. Many users reported a significant drop in battery life, making their phones practically unusable after a single day without multiple charges. Initial reports suggested battery life was cut in half or even more.

Uncovering the Mystery: Investigating the Update

Android Authority and other tech experts investigated the update and found compelling evidence explaining the battery life reduction. It appears the update altered the battery’s maximum charging voltage. This seemingly small change – from 4.45V to 3.95V – had a surprisingly significant impact.

The Voltage Issue

Lithium-ion batteries operate within specific voltage ranges. The lower limit, known as the cutoff voltage, is the point at which the phone shuts down to protect the battery from damage. In the Pixel 4a, this cutoff voltage is 3.3V.

The update lowered the maximum voltage, effectively reducing the usable portion of the battery’s capacity. The new 3.95V maximum voltage represents approximately 56% of the original full charge, meaning the phone was only using 56% of its available battery capacity after the update. That’s a 44% reduction!

Beyond Voltage: Other Changes

The update didn’t just affect the voltage. It also impacted:

• Charging Speed: The maximum charging current was reportedly halved. While normally the Pixel 4a could charge at its full rate (1C or 3080mA), the update limited it to approximately half that speed (0.5C or 1540mA), extending charging times considerably.
• Battery Level Indicators: The update disabled the battery charge time estimate, likely because the underlying AI model wasn’t updated for the reduced battery capacity.
• Adaptive Charging: The Adaptive Charging feature, designed to learn your charging habits and optimize battery longevity by slowing charging when nearing full capacity, was also disabled.
• Battery Percentage Display: While you could still choose to display the battery percentage in the settings menu, after the update, the percentage reading would be inaccurate reflecting the reduced usable battery capacity.

Google Pixel 4a battery curve. | Image Credit – Android Authority

Battery replacement notification. | Image Credit – Android Authority

The Mysterious "Emergency Maintenance Release" (EMR)

Adding to the intrigue, the update was classified as an Emergency Maintenance Release (EMR). This type of release bypasses the usual rigorous testing and certification processes, suggesting an urgent need for deployment. Reports indicate the update was created manually on a developer’s machine, rather than through the usual automated system. The lack of detailed information on the bug tracker entry, only containing the ominous title "sunfish (Pixel 4a codename) sunset EMR," further amplified the mystery.

Was it Planned Obsolescence or Something Else?

While the situation looks immensely suspicious of planned obsolescence, the circumstances around the EMR suggest a more pressing reason might have existed. Google’s removal of all previous Pixel 4a firmware builds implies the company might have identified a serious underlying issue that required immediate attention, even at the cost of significantly reduced battery capacity for existing users.

It is worth speculating whether there was a safety concern, possibly preventing potential battery-related accidents. However, we never have confirmation from Google and may never gain a concrete understanding of Google’s exact motivations and reasons behind this event.

Google’s Response and Aftermath

Google offered replacement devices to affected users, though the terms and conditions of the program were not universally considered satisfactory. This event left many Pixel 4a users feeling frustrated and betrayed, prompting many of the affected users to consider an upgrade even though their devices were still functioning perfectly before the update.

Conclusion: A Tech Thriller with Unanswered Questions

The Pixel 4a battery update remains a perplexing case. While the immediate impact involved a significant reduction in battery life, the circumstances raise questions regarding Google’s update procedures and overall product life cycle management. While potentially intended to mitigate an unforeseen safety risk, the incident caused considerable frustration among Pixel 4a users.

The whole experience serves as a cautionary tale regarding software updates and the potential for unforeseen consequences, proving that updates seemingly fixing existing bugs can end up creating some far bigger and potentially expensive problems. The mystery around this event continues to be deciphered based on information available publicly. More information from Android Authority