Google Pixel 10 series

[Heat_Fan89]

Yeah, resale after a year will not be good

And it starts at 200 cycle counts. Google has this knack for being their own worse enemy. If they were an NFL kicker, they would have missed a sure FG from the 2 yard line.

What gets me is they are introducing and forcing performance limits to the battery at the 20% mark (200 out of 1000 cycles) of the batteries lifespan. Why not let the battery naturally get there with 700-800 cycles? At least I can disable that nonsense on my 9a.

 

[furbzv1]

and we thought Samsung fumbled by removing S-Pen

 

[chad.petree]

Just read about this but didn't want to put a downer on people getting excited.

It is disappointing but I think if there is enough consumer push back in terms of complaints or legal actions that will naturally follow if this information is true. I don't know but I would think 200 cycles is less than a year. So you should be able to tell before your warranty is up and might (with a lot of work) get a refurbished replacement but after that I don't know??

Personally I would rather take my chances with the battery needing replacement than a reduction in current. If Google simply adds a setting with a toggle switch for us to choose then it is a non issue. I don't know if this would stop me from buying a new Pixel.

I would say that it is actually a pretty significant problem with no resolution. Having performance reduced or throttled was a thing Apple got in trouble for. This is a very similar issue using battery voltage reduction to reduce battery capacity. Googles battery software only affects battery capacity and not truly performance but both companies are using software in the background without user knowledge to cripple some part of the phone. This is a very bad practice.

I just keep hoping it isn't true......

This is crazy, as you say, 200 cycles is less than a year, a little over half a year 😳🤯🙀, I hope other media outlets echo this information to pressure Google :/

 

[Dave245]

and we thought Samsung fumbled by removing S-Pen

Too soon dude, too soon 😂

 

[super chimp]

Google confirmed to Android Authority that Battery Health Assistance is mandatory on the Pixel 10 series and can’t be disabled. That means your phone’s charging speed and effective battery life will drop over time.

Preorder cancelled, do better Google. As that article states, Samsung batteries can hit 2K cycle counts.

That’s insane. At least Apple lets you get to 1000 cycles roughly. This is so obviously a cost saving measure so Google can put cheaper batteries in the Pixel models.

My ancient OnePlus 6 is seven years old, I hate to think how many cycles the battery has now and it doesn’t start warning me.

 

[piccolamela]

paywalled article referenced on notebookcheck

Meanwhile, there is bad news for fans of flip phones, as Google currently has no plans to release an alternative to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7. There are also no plans for a smart ring, while work on the next-generation Pixel tablet has been “put on hold.”

I'm waiting for an iPad mini or iPad Air/Pro like Pixel tablet. Their old one was heavy and just a basic one.

 

[Dave245]

That’s insane. At least Apple lets you get to 1000 cycles roughly.

My ancient OnePlus 6 is seven years old, I hate to think how many cycles the battery has now and it doesn’t start warning me.

Yea that insane, I suppose it depends how heavy a user you are tho. Google shouldn't be doing things like this. Samsung don't do it (as far as I know).

 

[Dominican]

This battery 🔋 problem is only 10 not XL ?

 

[Heat_Fan89]

This battery 🔋 problem is only 10 not XL ?

The article states, it became mandatory with the 9a although you can disable it on the Pixel 9a. It became mandatory and this time, you cannot disable it with the Pixel 10 series. The article also seems to imply it means "ALL" Pixel 10 models, i.e. P10/10Pro/ProXL.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

I am reconsidering all future Pixel purchases, and I currently own several Pixel's as I like their phones. This battery issue is concerning because:

1 - It goes back to the Pixel 4a
2 - Battery swelling was an issue with some of these phones
3 - They have not fixed the problem
4 - They are placing a band-aid over the problem
5 - It is affecting performance and battery life
6 - They are asking top money for their phones
7 - The competition doesn't seem to have this problem
8 - The competitions battery tends to have more cycle counts for a similar asking price
9 - They have learned NOTHING from Apple's battery throttling fiasco

 

[Dave245]

I am reconsidering all future Pixel purchases, and I currently own several Pixel's as I like their phones. This battery issue is concerning because:

1 - It goes back to the Pixel 4a
2 - Battery swelling was an issue with some of these phones
3 - They have not fixed the problem
4 - They are placing a band-aid over the problem
5 - It is affecting performance and battery life
6 - They are asking top money for their phones
7 - The competition doesn't seem to have this problem
8 - The competitions battery tends to have more cycle counts for a similar asking price
9 - They have learned NOTHING from Apple's battery throttling fiasco

This is a good point, yet Samsung learned their lesson with the Note 7 battery issue.

 

[Bkdodger]

You really have to scratch your head at some of these decisions.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

This is a good point, yet Samsung learned their lesson with the Note 7 battery issue.

Wow, I totally forgot about the Note 7. IIRC, Samsung recalled the phones and some users reluctantly held on to them. Samsung responded by forcing an OTA update that made the battery top off at 60%.

So that begs the question, is Google doing something similar? When the battery hits 200 cycles, will the phone display 100% battery but in reality Google is only giving you 60-70% max battery capacity?

 

[HouseLannister]

Between the battery throttling and the lack of a physical SIM, I had serious doubts last night. Just feels user hostile. I expect more from Google… embrace choice and all that. I did not sleep well, as my weird neurodiversity made some very irrational anxiety about all this that kept me up late.

But I reread all the software stuff this morning and the pros might outweigh the cons. Magic Cue, Daily Hub, Pro Res Zoom, Auto Best Take, and Take a Message all sound great on paper. Just hope they work well. I am super excited about the software.

Still going to get one, just debating through what vendor now. Right now I have a preorder from Google’s store for $100 off and $200 credit towards my next purchase. I am debating canceling that, as I don’t know if I will use the $200 credit. Do I need a Pixel Watch 4? Not really. Am I considering a Pixel 11 in the future? Who knows? I can get the phone from Amazon for $100 more, but it includes a $200 gift card that I will definitely use. So am I gaining $100 by doing that or losing $100? I also already have a $300 Amazon gift card from a returned Z Fold 7 preorder that it won’t let me apply because you can’t use gift cards to buy gift cards, which is annoying.

I tend to buy a couple phones a year anyway (the benefits of having two jobs and no kids), so there is always the S26 and OnePlus 15 on the horizon if I want to bail early 2026. Just got to let these worries be like water off the back of a duck until they are actually problems.

 

[Bkdodger]

I'm just laughing to myself right now as I'm thinking since we have so many tech enthusiasts and we're always buying the latest phones does that now mean that I buy a new Google phone use it for 200 charge cycles and then carry on to The next One? They could get quite expensive LMAO

 

[Dominican]

Just cancel the order ..

who going forward with the order just wondering

 

[Heat_Fan89]

I'm just laughing to myself right now as I'm thinking since we have so many tech enthusiasts and we're always buying the latest phones does that now mean that I buy a new Google phone use it for 200 charge cycles and then carry on to The next One? They could get quite expensive LMAO

My current Pixel lineup is P8/P8P/9A. I only trade in a phone if I get a smoking hot deal from Google. I got 90% value on a P4a in a trade, I also got good trade in prices on other Pixel's like a coral P6, P4a 5G. So I tend to keep my phones unless Google gives me a huge incentive to unload it. I live in Florida and having several phones fully charged during a hurricane helps to keep in contact with the outside world during a natural disaster.

So now I may keep those phones a lot longer and I might consider either buying a flagship Samsung phone or an iPhone, although I have an iPhone 13 that was being as a trade-in towards the P10 Pro but that order got cancelled.

 

[NUFC2025]

The article states, it became mandatory with the 9a although you can disable it on the Pixel 9a. It became mandatory and this time, you cannot disable it with the Pixel 10 series. The article also seems to imply it means "ALL" Pixel 10 models, i.e. P10/10Pro/ProXL.

How do you disable this on a 9a?

 

[robvalentine]

I'm debating canceling my order tbh. If I didn't have a refurb from Google I'd have cancelled it already. I got this refurb in June and the battery's first use was August last year... So I think it was a customer return. It also had android 14 out the box 😂.

Which shows Google doesn't do an apple and replace the battery. I can't remember what the cycle counts was but it was low single digits from memory

I wonder if the software features will trickle down to some older models like they used to.

 

[Cobalt Blizzard]

I want to know first what exactly 200 cycles mean. It could be 95% limited battery when it hits 200 cycles, 90% when it hits 400, and so on.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

How do you disable this on a 9a?

Well I checked after watching this video and you can't disable it. I'm on the latest update so perhaps it was possible in the past but not anymore. However the video does indicate that after 200 cycles Google starts to lower the capacity of the battery.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

I'm debating canceling my order tbh.

I would and that's what I did when I found out about this. It is totally unacceptable to me, especially for the price of their phones. So Google is crippling the phones performance on purpose because if they don't you'll have crippled performance later on in the batteries lifespan?

Yeah, that makes a ton of sense

 

[robvalentine]

Go to a Best Buy and they should have the older Watch 3 on display. I am about the same size as you and think the bigger size is the way to go (for me).

So the case I ordered for my watch arrived and I think the size should be ok. It's smaller than my current Garmin by a mm or 2 but seemingly taller.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

I want to know first what exactly 200 cycles mean. It could be 95% limited battery when it hits 200 cycles, 90% when it hits 400, and so on.

1 battery cycle means a total of 100.

20%+80% = 100 = 1 cycle
50%+50% = 100 = 1 cycle
65%+35% = 100 = 1 cycle

Insert any number and when the combination equals 100, that's a battery cycle.

 

[Cobalt Blizzard]

1 battery cycle means a total of 100.

20%+80% = 100 = 1 cycle
50%+50% = 100 = 1 cycle
65%+35% = 100 = 1 cycle

Insert any number and when the combination equals 100, that's a battery cycle.

I understand that 🙂
I mean what are the limitations exactly that start at 200 total cycles.