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Google Pixel 4a's update kills its battery life on purpose

Google’s budget-friendly Pixel 4a smartphone just received a software update on January 8. This one actually lowers the battery life.

Google says the automatic software update to Android 13 will “reduce your battery's runtime and charging performance” but that it’s necessary to “improve the stability” of each device. There’s no information as to what designates which handsets will suffer as a result of the update, but owners of so-called “impacted devices” will have a few “appeasement options” to choose from. The software update could be intended to prevent unexpected behavior or shutdowns and the reduction in battery life is an unfortunate side effect.

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