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Pixel 9a Battery Health Assistance

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The Google Pixel 9a is an Android smartphone designed, developed and marketed by Google. The planned release date is April 10 in US, Canada and UK[1]. On April 1, 2025, Google announced its Battery Health Assistance[2] to users:

For Pixel 9a:

Lithium-ion batteries are consumable components that eventually require replacement. Your Pixel 9a will receive a software update that automatically helps manage the long term health and performance of its battery as it ages. This software will adjust the battery’s maximum voltage in stages that start at 200 charge cycles and continue gradually until 1000 charge cycles to help stabilize battery performance and aging.

You may notice small decreases in your battery’s runtime as your battery ages. Battery health assistance will also tune the phone’s charging speed based on adjusted capacity. You may notice a slight change in battery charging performance. Battery health assistance settings on Pixel 9a aren’t customizable by the user.

Background

Pixel 4a Battery Performance Program[3]

Google is known to reduce the charging voltage of Pixel 4a from 4.4V to 3.95V via a software update, this results in a 44% drop in usable charge[4].

Potential effects of software update

Google has not provided detailed technical explanations for the update, the adjusted battery's maximum voltage and charging speed are yet to known.

Battery Performance issues

Charging the battery at a lower voltage will not fully charge it. A partly charged battery exhibit shorter runtime. Lowering the charging voltage by 0.1V lowers the capacity by about 10%[5].

Charging the battery at a lower current will increase the charging time.

Possible technical rationale

Prolonging battery life

Charging the battery at a lower percentage slows down battery degradation[6], Both the existing "Charging Optimization" and the future "Battery Health Assistance" achieve that. However there are some key differences:

Charging Optimization has two options, Adaptive Charging and Limit to 80%[7]. Adaptive Charging can prolong the life of the battery by fully charging it just before the user unplugs, reducing the time spend at high charge levels. The uses can select Limit to 80% option to help extend the lifespan of the battery. Pixel users can enable and disable the feature at will.

Battery Health Assistance lowers the battery's maximum voltage and charging current in stages, from 200 cycles to 1000 cycles[2]. This is irreversible as the only way to use the full voltage of the battery again is to replace the battery itself[1]. This reduces runtime further as only part of the remaining battery health is available.

Google claimed that this Battery Health Assistance will be voluntary for previously launched devices[8]. It is unclear whether some or all Pixel devices released in the future will be impacted by this program.

Potentially defective battery unit

Concerns arise over the delayed launch date of Pixel 9a over an "an unnamed component issue", suspecting that the issue could be the battery[9].

Consumer reaction

Users whose Pixel 4a negatively affected by the update compared this program with the Pixel 4a Battery Performance Program, saying that the Pixel 4a incident is a "preview"[10]. Users also find the wording of the support article on Google's website is vague and lack of self-consistency[11].

References

  1. ↑ Jump up to: 1.0 1.1 Brecher, Hannes; Fisher, Jacob (2 Apr 2025). "Google Pixel 9a comes with new feature that weakens the battery after just 200 charging cycles". Notebookcheck. Retrieved 2 Apr 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 "Understand your Pixel battery". Google. 1 Apr 2025. Archived from the original on 4 Apr 2025. Retrieved 4 Apr 2025.
  3. ↑ "Pixel 4a Battery Performance Program". Google. 6 Jan 2025. Archived from the original on 7 Jan 2025. Retrieved 25 Mar 2025.
  4. ↑ Wojciechowska, Kamila (5 Feb 2025). "There is even more to the Google Pixel 4a's horrific battery update than we thought". AndroidAuthority. Retrieved 4 Apr 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ↑ "BU-409: Charging Lithium-ion". Battery University. 25 Oct 2021. Retrieved 4 Apr 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ↑ Xu, Bolun & Oudalov, Alexandre & Ulbig, Andreas & Andersson, Göran. (2016). Modeling of Lithium-Ion Battery Degradation for Cell Life Assessment. IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid. 99. 1-1. 10.1109/TSG.2016.2578950.
  7. ↑ "Get the most life from your Pixel phone battery". Pixel Phone Help. Retrieved 4 Apr 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ↑ Li, Abner (31 Mar 2025). "Google Pixel adding 'Battery health assistance' for long-term use, starting with Pixel 9a". 9to5Google. Retrieved 4 Apr 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ↑ Mundy, Jon (20 Mar 2025). "Pixel 9a flaw uncovered before it even hits shops". Tech Advisor. Retrieved 4 Apr 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ↑ "Pixel 9a will have battery "optimised" after 200 cycles". Reddit. 2 Apr 2025. Retrieved 3 Apr 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ↑ "So they want to reduce the wear out of the battery by... doing exactly the same? What's logic behind this?". Reddit. 1 Apr 2024. Retrieved 2 Apr 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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