Google has announced that it is rolling out a surprise update for its Pixel 4A phones this week. According to Ars Technica, the company sent an email to Pixel 4A owners saying that the update will solve a battery stability issue, but that their batteries may not last as long after installing it.
Google repeats this information on a new help page titled “Pixel 4a Battery Performance Program,” where it says it has noticed issues with “some” Pixel 4A phones.
In addition to reduced battery life, the update could mean “reduced charging performance” or a change in the way the phone displays battery capacity. Google did not specify what exactly is behind the problem, but the circumstances are similar to the situation with Apple’s iPhone in 2017, when “batterygate” occurred. Apple said that its software slowed down iPhones with aging batteries to prevent accidental shutdowns, but it did not inform customers why their devices experienced reduced performance, leading to hundreds of millions in legal fees.
In this case, Google is also offering owners of affected 4A devices a choice of compensation: They can choose a free battery replacement, a $50 payment, or a $100 credit toward a new Pixel phone from the online store. 4A owners can enter their IMEI number on this page to see if their phones are affected.
Google didn’t immediately respond to our questions about why the 4A, which hasn’t been updated since late 2023, needs this kind of attention now.
