Google’s new Pixel 4A update is going to lower battery life for some owners

A fresh Google Pixel 4A from our 2020 review. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Google has announced that it is shipping an unexpected update to Pixel 4A phones this week. According to Ars Technica, the company emailed Pixel 4A owners to tell them the update will address battery performance stability but that their batteries may not last as long after it’s applied.

Google repeats that in a new help page titled “Pixel 4a Battery Performance Program,” where it writes that it had noticed issues with “some” Pixel 4A phones.

From January 8, 2025, Pixel 4a devices will receive an automatic software update to Android 13. After the software update is downloaded, your device will restart automatically to apply the update. For some devices (“Impacted Devices”), the update includes new battery management features to improve the stability of your battery’s performance, so the battery may last for shorter periods between charges. Users of Impacted Devices may also notice other changes, like reduced charging performance or changes to how the battery-level indicator on your phone shows your battery capacity.

We want our customers to have the best possible experience with their products, so users of these Impacted Devices are eligible for an appeasement from Google.

Not all Pixel 4a devices are impacted by the reduction in battery capacity and charging performance, therefore if your device is not impacted the battery will perform the same as before, and you will not be eligible for an appeasement.

Besides having less runtime, the update could mean “reduced charging performance” or change how the phone shows battery capacity. Google hasn’t been specific about what’s behind the issue, but the circumstances are similar to Apple’s iPhone “batterygate” mess in 2017. Apple said its software slowed down iPhones with aging batteries to prevent accidental shutdowns, but it didn’t inform customers about why their devices had reduced performance and ended up with hundreds of millions in court settlement payments.

In this case, Google is also offering owners with affected 4A devices their choice of compensation: They can opt for a free battery swap, a $50 payday, or a $100 credit toward a new Pixel phone from its online store. 4A owners can enter their IMEI number on this page to find out if theirs is affected.

Google didn’t immediately respond to our questions about why the 4A, which hasn’t been updated since late 2023, needs this attention now.